The Start of Train
by AngelicSpring
Summary: Because of Amy's message, all of them are now teachers. From incessant training from each branch everyday to a sudden match of a 'human chess' from the enemy, will they make it out alive? Or must they know the meaning of sacrifice? COMPLETED.
1. Prologue

**SUMMARY:  
>The Cahills have experienced it all and yet they are faced with another challenge.<br>Five hundred years' worth of lies and deception is what the young generation of Cahills are trying to break. From the cunning Lucian (Ian and Natalie Kabra), the ingenious Ekat (triplets Sinead, Ted and Ned Starling), the athletic Tomas (Hamilton, Madison and Reagan Holt), the creative Janus (cousins Jonah and Phoenix Wizard) up to the serene Madrigals (Amy and Dan Cahill), they must find a way to defeat the Vespers using their own wit and strategies.  
>Fate seems to think that only by fighting together could they beat all odds. The plan: Be Each Other. Everyone stays at the Cahill mansion, the renovation of the shattered mansion of Grace Cahill. Asked to teach, to train each other, but will it ever be enough?<strong>  
><strong> They are now challenged to a literally deadly game. A human chess. Would they succeed when each one of them was born and still living in lies? Or would they be a house divided against itself that can never stand?<strong>

/This is an AWESOME page break/

PROLOGUE

12:03:46 am.

Ian Kabra glared at the blinding light from his laptop, trying to read the newest of the emails he had received. Working twenty-three hours a day isn't helping his mood, nor is it good for his eyesight. Spending all his time saying, "Madame, this exquisite painting endured too much emotion, as you can see from the wonderfully distorted colors. I see, you cannot seem to take your eyes off of it. Well, of course, a true art person would only be interested in unravelling a masterpiece's meaning." And then, they would buy it. Five minutes of sales talk for a painting no person in a clear state of mind would buy. Wonderfully distorted colors? Pah. All there is, is distorted. Horrifically distorted. Ian sighed, knowing his mind-ranting would do him no good. He massaged his temples, his eyes closed in utter exhaustion.

Tomorrow is just another day to charm people. Roughly eight thousand dollars can he make with one painting. That's more than enough. His eyes flew open in shock. More than enough. Where had that come from? Never in his life had he said those words. More than enough. Nothing will ever be enough. There will always be something better from what you have now, and it's your job to get it, acquire it. No matter the costs.

Then, again... Having your credit cards cancelled, having four million dollars, and experiencing days when no one would buy a single painting are new dimensions to the Kabras. Compared to the never-ending billions they had before and the days when it's normal to have a thousand companies calling for you. Work is needed to sustain that. Huh. So that's where the 'more than enough' came from.

Work without cheating is hard... unusual. Lucians are born to use their cunning, to cheat if they must. Which more often than not, they must.

"We won't be like them," he murmured. His sister's words echoed in his ears. When he was giving all their Clues, all their hard-earned Clues, she said, 'We haven't changed enough... But we're trying.'

And we will. Starting now.

There was a soft knock on his door. At this ungodly hour, only one person in this household would have the guts to knock on his bedroom door.

He pressed a button underneath his oak table, not bothering to look up to see who was standing outside his room. "What is it, Natalie?" he whispered, clicking on the third-to-the-last email.

No answer. He looked up, stifling a yawn.

His thirteen-year-old sister stood there, holding her silk pillow. Her designer pajamas accented her flowing dark hair, and striking amber eyes. She has her lips pursed in thought, giving Ian a glimpse of her cuts and bruises from the recent kidnapping the Vespers had concocted. She hasn't quite healed yet. His fingers clenched into a fist, just thinking of the incident.

He stood up, unfolding his towering height. Sixteen and going to six-feet tall. He walked over to his sister and squatted down to her height.

"What is it?" he asked again.

"Can't sleep," she croaked, wincing slightly. Her throat is still dry from the torture of their abduction.

"Natalie," he sighed, knowing full well where this is going, "nobody is going to harm you anymore. Are you still having those nightmares?"

She nodded mutely, not trusting her voice.

"Alright then. Sleep here for the night." He stood up, guiding Natalie to his bed.

With Natalie safe in bed, he resumed in his work.

"You rarely sleep these days," Natalie whispered, barely audible. "That's bad for your health."

Ian flinched slightly. Concern is such a new concept to them, then again the most evident these days.

He turned to look at her, not sure how to respond. "I can manage." They stared at each other for a long moment. Then at last, she surrendered, nodded, and went to sleep.

Un-lucian. Very un-lucian. Ian stared at Natalie's sleeping face. What happened to her? What have they done? He pinched the bridge of his nose as the memories of the day Natalie went home from the hospital blurred his vision.

_Natalie gasped in shock. "What are those?" She pointed, wide-eyed with horror, at the shelves of poisons. _

_Ian looked perplexed. "Natalie, these are your collection of poisons. For your dart gun." Ian picked up a sleek, dart gun of the bedside table. His sister flinched away from it. _

"_To hurt people?" she breathed. _

"_Well, technically," Ian shifted his feet awkwardly. What was he supposed to say, Oh no, actually, those are only used to slightly incapacitate people. If they are lucky, they might just live through the pain or something. _

_He could only imagine how that would go. _

_So now, those shelves were transferred to Ian's library. _

Lucians are not afraid of bloodshed. Lucians are not afraid of poisons. They invented them, for crying out loud! Natalie, good, old Natalie is proof of this. She's not afraid to use her dart gun on anybody, even him. But, now, it's like she's never seen it before. What have they done? Steal her Lucian DNA? Ian snorted at that theory. That's ridiculous, laughable even.

But then, maybe... possible?

His laptop silently vibrated, an indication of yet another email. He breathed deeply before checking it.

**AmyCahill; Urgent!**

For the first time in days, he felt awake.

xXxxXoOoXxxXx

6:05:59 am.

"WHO'S THE BEST AMONG THE REST?" Eisenhower bellowed as his entire family jogged a mile a minute.

"HOLTS, HOLTS, HOLTS, HOLTS!" the rest of his family yelled back.

Reagan Holt fell a step behind. She felt the familiar tightening of her chest. She can't be having this... this difficulty. No Holt has a breathing disorder. Still, she clutched her chest and heaved nervously. She closed her eyes, trying to block away the pain.

Stupid Vespers. Stupid poison. Stupid torture. For the past few days, after the kidnapping she's been having a hard time keeping up with the Holts normal exercises. Sometimes, she could finish the whole routine; most of the time she can't even reach half. How embarrassing.

"Hey, Reags," Hamilton Holt hovered over his sister worriedly. "You okay?"

She nodded. "Yeah... I'm... okay."

Hamilton furrowed his eyebrows. He looked at his family, who stopped a few yards away from them. Mary-Todd Holt advanced towards them. She rubbed Reagan's back, her motherly instincts taking over. "Sir, Dad, Sir!" Hamilton yelled, just like any military officer would.

"Yes, son?" Eisenhower yelled back.

"Permission to rest, sir?"

Eisenhower glanced at his wife. They exchanged meaningful looks. "Permission granted!"

"Here, you are, Reagan," Madison Holt handed a bottle of water to her twin. They sat on the grass, like a family on a picnic. A very early picnic.

"Thanks, Maddy," Reagan gratefully took a huge gulp.

"You know, I think," Hamilton started as he stretched. His phone vibrated. He sighed and glanced at his parents. They were talking, whispering actually. His dad has his serious thinking expression and occasionally it would change to a defiant face. His mom explained something that seemed to madden the both of them.

Hamilton turned to look at his younger sisters, who are gently wrestling each other. Madison knew when to cut her sister some slack because of The Condition. That's exactly what his parents were talking about. Being the eldest, most of the time they ask Hamilton to be there when they talk about the Vespers. Hamilton felt his fingers clutch the grass beneath him. Those jerks. Look what they did to my sister. He gritted his teeth in frustration. If only he knew what they did to her. To reduce her stamina like that. It's almost like those idiot Vespers stole a piece of Tomas DNA from her. If only...

He's sure, the Lucians could help. Maybe they would. The older Kabra seems to change gradually. They actually met at a soccer – uh, football – competition back in England. And they talked... without trying to kill each other. Or maybe, the Starlings would. They're smart beyond compare. Ned and Ted probably are on their way to complete healing. Anybody.

He finally fished his phone out of his pocket. I swear, if this is another text from the idiot Henry...

**AmyCahill; Urgent!**

He stood up suddenly, his fingers shaking. He opened the message.

xXxxXoOoXxxXx

1:30:01 pm.

"Yo, Phoenix, my man," Jonah Wizard called out to his cousin, "ever think 'bout lunch, dude?" The bright and hot July sun glared at the two Wizards. They were out on the pool, enjoying the peace and quiet.

Phoenix Wizard, sitting beside the pool, strummed a few more chords before turning to face his multi-billionaire, extraordinaire, celebrity cousin. "Yeah, sure."

Jonah smiled his million-dollar smile. "Havin' Jap food today, homie! Sashimi, Maki, the works!"

"You know, you could drop the language when you're with me." Phoenix took a bite of the tuna sashimi. "Shakespeare," he added, after a couple of chews. He knows how much Jonah loves Shakespeare... and how much he hates it when Phoenix rubs it in his nose. Seventeen-year-old Jonah unceremoniously stuck his tongue out at his twelve-year-old cousin.

"Whatevs," Jonah flopped down his summer chair. Which is right beside his autumn chair, then his spring chair, and his winter chair. His eyes wandered over his cousin. Phoenix had his wrist all bandaged up, making it hard for him to play any instrument. But that didn't stop him. Not to mention his absolute ear is slightly fading. Once Jonah played a wrong note on the piano, Phoenix didn't even bat an eye. Normally he would react and scold Jonah. Or check the piano, and tune it.

Jonah cleared his throat. "So, Phoenix," he started.

"Hmm...?" came the reply, obviously torn out of his reverie.

"Are you feeling any better now? You know, from the..."

Phoenix looked sharply up at him. "You know something, don't you? You've noticed?"

Jonah shrugged.

"You think it's gonna be permanent?" Phoenix asked, nervously. He gestured at his ears.

Jonah bluffed his worry with another of his dazzling smiles. "Nah. You still have mad hearing." He winked at him. "How else were you able to tell me how much I stink at singing?"

They laughed, temporarily forgetting the matter at hand.

"Tell you what," Jonah said, after a couple of California Maki. "I'm having some serious recording tomorrow. How about I give you a slot or two for your songs?"

His cousin choked on his orange juice. "Wh- Seriously?"

Jonah nodded. "Sure. What do you think?"

"That'd be great! Like awesome!" Phoenix offered a fist bump, Jonah graciously accepted it.

It's my entire fault anyways, Jonah thought, looking out on the horizon. If I didn't ask him to be there on my concert, he wouldn't have been kidnapped. If only... And now look what happened. He can't seem to forget how Phoenix looked after they saved them. After the kidnapping. Black eyes, bruises, broken wrists seen from afar.

His reverie was brought to a halt by one of his maids, Madeleine. He winced slightly at the name. Madeleine. Madrigal.

"Sir Jonah," she began warily.

"Mads, Mads, Mads," Jonah chided, "what did we say about the 'sir' thing?"

Madeleine flushed bright red. "Oh! Uh... I'm sorry. I meant, Jonah, dude."

Jonah nodded urging her on. Phoenix snickered in the background. "You have a mail alert, dude," Madeleine continued, holding out a sleek, brand new iPad.

Jonah thanked her and glanced at the email.

**AmyCahill; Urgent!**

"Oh geez," he breathed.

xXxxXoOoXxxXx

5:47:19 pm.

"Ned and Ted Starling!" Sinead called, raising her voice to be heard by anyone in a ten-mile radius. "Get your lazy butts here this instant! Or else..." She purposely left the threat unfinished, leaving everything up to her idiotic brothers' imaginations.

"Now, now, my dear child," Alistair Oh chided gently. He struggled over a couple of boxes which in his old age isn't very suitable. "Have patience with your brothers. They just want to –"

Sinead cut him off, knowing full well where this is going. "Yes, yes. Enjoy the wonderful effects of the medication. Ted can see again. Ned has less frequent and less painful headaches." She helped Alistair with the boxes, getting them out of his hands. "I just don't see why they can't enjoy it while helping us."

Two brown-haired heads popped out of the vans windows. "Hurry up, Sinead...," Ted called, a miniature wireless microphone near his mouth. "It's getting dark already," finished his twin, Ned, an exact replica of Ted's microphone in his hand.

Sinead glared at their smirking faces. Their nerve to make a microphone instead of helping them! On second thought, those are probably cooler than they look like but still... She did her Prayanama to calm all her jittery nerves. Count to ten, she thought to herself. She snapped out of her yogic breathing with a huge, "Ned and Ted Starling! You are so dead!"

Alistair smiled and patted her on the back. "They are right, my dear. We need to leave. Why don't you take the front seat, eh?" Ned and Ted snickered in the background. They made pouty faces behind Sinead's back. "Real mature," Sinead mouthed.

Sinead sighed. She resigned to her seat and strapped the seatbelt in place. Alistair revved the engine to life, and immediately went to programming the built-in GPS. He pressed the AP button, Auto-pilot. Alistair and the Starlings have been busy fixing this van to their liking. Having the mind of an Ekat, they tinkered with a few things and voila! The vehicle can drive you anywhere without you breaking a sweat.

Thinking about it... Sinead glanced at his uncle. He was busy with a bunch of reports from their fellow Ekats. Uncle Alistair didn't do much help with the van. Sinead twirled her ponytail nervously. She had been thinking about this fact ever since the kidnapping was resolved. Alistair has been acting rather... odd. He would space out in front of an experiment, sometimes in the middle of the most crucial part of assembling machinery. The weirdest yet, was when he forgot how to use a screwdriver, or that one time with the radioactive-powered gun, or with that...

She is always left to conclude that this the result of old age. What other reason could there be? Unless, the Vespers had some kind of device that separates DNA, taking only what they need. In their case, the Ekat DNA inside Uncle Alistair. But that's preposterous! It's stupid! It's... It's...

Her eyes watered in frustration. She quickly dabbed the waterworks away. She really should learn how to relax. Maybe double her yoga lessons or something. She rested her head and closed her eyes.

Her phone vibrated inside her jeans' pocket. She sighed, and without opening her eyes fished the phone out of her pocket.

She flipped it open, and read.

**AmyCahill; Urgent!**

Well, Sinead thought against the sudden adrenaline in her veins, so much for relaxing then.

xXxxXoOoXxxXx


	2. Ch 1: The Cobra, The Buff and The Bread

**Oh my bananas~! I cannot believe how many reviews I got! Oh my bananas~! For the first time, I actually got CONSTRUCTIVE comments **** Like really, really constructive. Thank you all so much! Huge shout-outs to: **Evanescence456 **(who is one of the authors that inspired me to do a 39 Clues Fan Fic and the first reviewer!), **JanusGirl101 **(the first one who asked what branch I belong to (Janus, by the way) and thought that my attempt to show my barbarism is genius [stealing DNA]), **Kaye Nightshade **(for welcoming me, giving me advice and rating me; muchos hugs to ya!), **foreveryounggg **(for believing in my potential before anything else; that means a lot even to the most depressed of human being), **DinoicallySarcastic **(for making me realize that I really should get my lazy butt out of my lazy mode and start proof reading), and **SibunaAnubisGirl **(for making me nearly say what Amy's message is and end up being a spoiler; muchos love!) Those are the awetastic people who reviewed The Start of Train on its baby steps. **

**I would also like to thank the following people: hAdesLythErinmadrigalX, cammygrl, therockinCookie and bookgirl39 (I liked her review so much. Don't worry, I'll pass on the message to our dear Ian Kabra. :)) You guys rock! And as Dan would say, You Reggae! Or Hip-Hop! Or Ballad... *awkward*  
><strong>

**Mushiness and extreme gratitude aside, I forgot to put something with the prologue and I was like banging my head on the wall. THE DISCLAIMER! I enjoy doing these as much as the chapters. Besides I'd like you to meet a few important people, uh... and animal.**

**ME: Our special guest for today is... Kudo Shinchi! (Kyaa! Kyaa!)**

**Shin-chan: (appears out of nowhere) Wha -? What am I doing here? (looks at his self) Why am I Kudo Shinichi again? What -?**

**ME: Well... Somebody has issues. (rolls eyes)**

**Shin-chan: Who are you? **

**ME: Just do the disclaimer please.**

**Shin-chan: What disclaimer? I am not to be commanded!**

**(Hattori Heiji appears) (more squealing)**

**Hei-chan: Oi, Kudo! Do the stinking disclaimer** **already! The bomb will go off in a minute!**

**ME: This portion is getting long. Hmm... Oh wait! I control it, don't I? (looks at the two bickering detectives) Then I wish, for... (closes eyes) BROWNIES!**

**(Mr. Manager~sama enters; sees me eating brownies, and Heiji and Shinichi panicking)**

**Mr. Manager~sama: AngelicSpring does not own The 39 Clues, the French bread or France (how weird), Natalie's Prada, or (eyes the scene warily again) the cast of Detective Conan here. Unfortunately, she owns me.**

**ME: Now I want a flying rabbit~! (flying rabbit appears) In a purple tutu~! (purple tutu appears) Singing Baby! (rabbit sings Baby)**

**Mr. Manager~sama: Enough already! (throws hands up in the air) Do I really have to do everything here? On with the story... (exits; then enters again) Oh wait! She does not own Baby by Justin Bieber, too. You can now read in peace.**

_ And I just can't believe my first love won't be around...__  
><em>

xXxXXoXXxXx

Chapter 1: The Cobra, The Buff, and The Bread

"Daniel..."

Drip, drip. "Arthur..."

Slosh, slosh. "Caaahiiill!"

Amy Cahill snatched the innocent white towel, laid on the beach chair near the pool of their mansion. She was dripping wet, head to toe, because of her dweeb of a brother. She can feel the tightness of her pajamas. Ugh. Everything is getting heavier by the minute. And as if to top everything off, a sudden breeze passed by making her shiver uncontrollably.

She felt her feet squish inside her soaked bunny-fur slippers, as she stomped inside, glaring at nothing in particular. "Daaan!" she yelled at the top of her lungs. "Where are you? I swear, when I find you I'm gonna..." She clenched her hands in to fists, with the towel on top of her long, reddish-brown hair. She stomped upstairs to her room. She quickly changed into a green T-shirt that said on the front, 'Procrastinators, Unite!' and on the back, 'Yeah, Maybe Later...' She grabbed her white Capris, and shoved her pink Converse on her feet. That took four minutes and eight seconds. You see, when you came from a hunt that has people killing you every breathing second of the day, you learn the art of agility. She walked out of her room, set to finding her brother. She gritted her teeth, remembering Dan's morning greeting.

What kind of person bothers you so early in the morning by screaming at the top of his lungs, "The Vespers! The Vespers! The Vespers!" And of course being the sensible sister she is, she would follow the sound of her idiotic brother's voice. Groggily, she followed suit, not knowing where she was heading. She felt the warm sun on her face and immediately knew that she was already outside. She saw something black somewhere in front of her. Something black with a streak of white. One thing processed on her mind. Ninja clothes. Dan. She ran towards the black object and splash! She ended in the swimming pool. She bobbed her head upwards, gasping for breath. She is wide awake now. Wide awake, freezing, and completely annoyed. She saw Dan, her idiotic, moronic, completely stupid brother, laughing his head off. He wasn't wearing his ninja clothes today. Actually he looked pretty decent, with that black 'Gotta-catch-'em-all' shirt and camouflage pants. "And that's the girl who supposedly saved the world, ladies and gentlemen!" he announced on a fried chicken leg that they had last night. He took a ravenous bite out of it. He ran his free hand through his dirty blonde hair, making some of it fall over his face. He must have noticed the flare in his sister's jade green eyes, for he ran away with a, "Sayonara, obaa-san!"

And that only happened for a solid hour and a half. The day is young.

_Ding-dong!_

"Oh, I see," Amy said, her eyes narrowing at the front door. "You're going to use the doorbell trick this time, huh? That's already getting old, Dan."

What's the doorbell trick, you say? Well, it's simply this. Whenever Dan annoys Amy (which is every single day) it always turns out as a game of hide-and-seek. To escape, Dan rings the doorbell and when Amy gets it, he would fire something at her. Yesterday was chocolate syrup. The day before was strawberry or was it vanilla... "That way Ian Cobra would think you're just swee~eet!" he mocked, making kissy faces at his sister.

Amy made sure she has a weapon this time. She grabbed a stale French bread from the counter in the kitchen before stepping closer to the door. The crumbs fell to the floor, but she paid them no mind. She held the knob for a moment. And with unnecessary force, she opened the door.

"Daniel, you are so dead!" With that she brought the bread crashing down.

xXxXXoXXxXx

The laughter was deafening.

The smell of freshly-baked chocolate chip cookies is maddening.

And the sight of the huge, red bump on _his_ forehead is blinding.

Amy blushed harder. Her cheeks felt so hot, she could imagine billows of smoke emanating from it. She pressed the ice-filled cloth over _his_ forehead one more time.

"It wouldn't hurt to be a little gentler," drawled _his_ voice, and then he suddenly smirked. "Love," he added, looking up to lock eyes with Amy. That was the last straw. The laughter exploded once more.

"And that was Amy's latest stupidity exploit," Dan exclaimed while fighting laughter, using his announcer voice. "Whacking Ian Cobra straight in the head and producing such a huge, red, swelling, ridiculous, funny, stupid –"

Hamilton Holt guffawed, his voice booming and vibrating across the four walls of the Cahill's mansion living room. "That's enough, little buddy. We get it." He looked at Ian's scowling face. "Little Cobra here looks like a bump that grew a face."

He, his twin sisters, Reagan and Madison Holt and sadly, Dan succumbed to a hearty laughter once more. "I'm sorry," Amy mumbled again, amidst the growing noise.

"That is the..." Ian counted with his fingers, dramatically changing into an imaginary math problem, with square roots, and exponents, and everything. "Twelfth time you have said you are sorry," he concluded, brandishing The Smirk.

Amy grimaced. "What's with the mathematical problems?"

"Humour, love, humour," he winked at her.

She rolled her eyes, pushing the improvised ice pack harder on his forehead. Ian winced and abruptly grabbed Amy's wrist. Both of them looked at the connection, unable to move in any way. They didn't even notice that the noise died out because someone came in.

xXxXXoXXxXx

_We interrupt your reading with an: Abrupt Flashback before anything else. (Skip at your own risk!)_

"_Daniel, you are so dead!" Amy yelled, swinging the bread down. Breathing hard, she looked at her masterpiece. _

_Ian Kabra was staring at her, wide-eyed and his mouth open in shock. "A-Amy?" he spluttered. His amber eyes glittered a hundred emotions. Happy, embarrassed, shocked, then back to happy, and finally, "Ow!" he suddenly exclaimed, clutching his forehead. _

"_Hey, Amy, where are –" Dan came running, and skidded to a stop when he saw the huge bulk that was his seventeen-year-old cousin Hamilton. "Heeeeyyy! Duuuddee!" he yelled, a silly grin plastered on his face. Clearly he has not seen the whole picture yet."Wassu –"_

"_D-D-Dan! Wh-What a-are...?" Amy trailed off, looking back and forth from the newcomers to her brother. Ian Kabra is here. Why the heck is he here? WhyWhyWhyWhyWhy? Dan stood beside her sister, still grinning. He looked at the Holts and wandered off to look at the others. His smile fell. "You!" he exclaimed with so much loathing. He pointed at a shiny, glittery thing... And the thing spoke._

"_Hello to you too, Daniel," Natalie Kabra said, flipping her silky black hair over her shoulder. She fanned herself. "Excuse my asking but is it really this hot here? I mean, couldn't you have your lawn air-conditioned or something?" Her face changed to a look of disappointment. Madison looked at Reagan. "Is it hot? I've never noticed," she told her. Reagan shook her head. _

"_Oh, I'm sorry, Ms. Kabra. I'll look into that, as soon as I am done patching up the hole on the ozone layer," Dan replied, miffed yet again by Natalie's attitude. The Holts bit their lips to keep from laughing, at the very least smiling. _

_His rival just smirked at him. She looked him over, her nose scrunching. "Only you can dress like that and still manage to look like a living organism," she purrs. Reagan mimicked licking her finger and pointing it at Natalie. Madison smiled and made a sizzling noise. "Tsssss," she muttered. _

"_And only you can dress like that and look like a walking Christmas tree," he retorted. He mimed shielding his eyes from too much brightness. Natalie gasped indignantly._

"_Uh... Dan-o, you see someone is kinda injured here," Hamilton interjected, sensing a day-long fight. He pointed at Ian, still clutching his head. That zapped Amy back to reality. "Oh gosh," she staggered over to Ian, dropping the French bread/weapon. She bit her lip and touched Ian's swelling forehead. "Oh gosh! I'm so sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry."_

"_Guys? Are those..." Reagan started, pointing at the crumbly French bread._

"_Drumsticks in a bread?" Madison finished, picking the wooden drumsticks. _

_Dan looked confused for a minute and started. "Oh! So that's where I left those!" Madison gave it to him reluctantly, probably hesitating to think if Dan was in the right mind to handle such things. "I had to clean my room just to look for these," he said sadly. Natalie massaged her temples, as if the mere thought of that gave her a migraine. _

"_Well, it's good to know what actually hit me and all," Ian said, his British accent coming on thick because of the pain in his head. "But can we please go inside now? I'd really appreciate ice on this swell." He glanced at Amy. She blushed furiously, still biting her lip. She wordlessly led Ian inside the house. WhyWhyWhyWhyWhyWhy?_

_Natalie looked expectantly at Dan. "What?" Dan demanded. _

_Natalie raised her eyebrows incredulously. "For starters, aren't you, for once in your life, going to be a real gentleman and carry my bags?" she snapped._

"_Oh!" Dan exclaimed, acting like the idea was something he forgot. He even made a face palm to complete the act. Then he smirked. "Nah, not gonna happen!"_

"_Daniel Arthur Cahill, help them with their stuff and get in here!" came Amy's voice, probably from the living room. Dan groaned. The statement, however, earned an amused expression from Natalie. "Well..." she started. Dan cut her off with a look. "Not. One. Word," he hissed warningly. He harshly picked four bags from stupid Natalie alone, and two more from her stupid older brother. Stupid, dumb Natalie. Stupid, stupid, stupid, he thought furiously. He started marching inside the house, followed by the Holts who seemed confused and delighted at the scene playing out. Natalie was unperturbed, clearly unimpressed with Dan's anger. "Daniel Arthur Cahill, huh," she murmured, somewhere behind him. Dan flinched, thinking how regal his name suddenly sounded with Natalie's accent. He shook his head angrily. Stupid, dumb Natalie and her stupid, dumb accent. _

"_Woah, step up much?" Hamilton said, as they went inside. It surely was a huge step up. The Cahill kids sure know how to live it, he thought approvingly. The inside of the mansion was huge. Well, of course, when they came here they were greeted by a huge lawn sprinkled with a thousand kinds of flowers. "Amy," all of them reasoned, when they saw the wide array of colourful flowers. Hamilton noticed Ian smile as they looked out from the limousine. From pink roses, white roses, red roses, lilacs, sunflowers, stargazers, the list went on forever. But the interior is definitely something else. It's, like, Greece with the marble pillars. Or was it Roman? On the right was the living room, thickly carpeted by emerald green velvet with gold trims. The walls were draped with Oriental rugs. There was a huge fireplace, like those you see from medieval times. A dim light coming from above shone. A glassy chandelier. _

"_Woah," Madison and Reagan exclaimed when they saw the place._

_Dan dropped the bags on the floor with a thud. He glared at Ian Kabra who was sitting at the huge couch, upholstered with yet again, velvet. This time though, it was a warm brown. At a corner stood a grand piano, with music sheets neatly stacked. _

"_Well," Natalie began, mildly impressed not because of the surroundings but because she can't believe the Amy and Daniel Cahill they knew could pull something like this. "Obviously, Daniel has nothing to do with all the designing and such. That much is obvious."_

_Dan switched his glare to her, but was unable to make a comeback because Amy came in, a bucket of ice in one hand and a piece of cloth in another. She set about treating Ian's wound. _

"_Oh! I nearly forgot!" And with that Natalie left._

"_This is so stupid," Dan muttered._

xXxXXoXXxXx

"That's it, people. Injured person's sister coming through!" Natalie strutted over to her brother carrying a huge first aid kit. Underneath the huge, red cross on the white bag, the word Prada was spelled in glittery font. Dan had to roll his eyes at that. A designer first aid kit bag? Dan thought; Leave it to Natalie to be extra stupid. And the bag was like a luggage bag, for heaven's sake.

"Wow, Natalie. Just like you to be prepared, huh?" Dan blurted out. Then he flushed slightly, thinking that Natalie would look at the statement as a compliment. Natalie said nothing. She just arched an eyebrow, looking at Dan suspiciously. He acted fast. "So, what's in there? An ambulance?" he continued, using a line from one of the sitcoms he has watched recently. The Holts laughed. Ian and Amy even managed to crack a smile, though they tried to hide it for Natalie's sake. "Oooh... Burn," Hamilton said, slapping high-fives with Dan.

Natalie Kabra was not one to give up at any fight. She might have gained a sudden soft spot, but she never lost. She is, and forever will be, a Lucian. And a strong-willed, cunning Lucian at that. She let out one of her evil smirks. "Why, yes, Daniel. How correct you are! And if you're wondering what else is inside this bag of mine..." She pretended to search through the Prada first aid kit. "Well, won't you look at that!" she said, feigning surprise and brandishing a glossy tranquilizer gun. "A tranquilizer gun and a hundred of poisons, concocted by yours truly." Natalie pursed her lips evilly, her perfectly formed eyebrows raised. "What about it, Daniel?"

"Point for the lady Kabra," Hamilton muttered, coughing to hide his chuckles. Reagan and Madison high-fived quietly, smiling despite themselves. Ian looked quite proud of his sister, and Amy bit her lip, trying to hide her pleasure at Dan's most embarrassing moment.

Dan's green eyes fired up with emotion. "Oh..." he said, his features changing entirely. "You are so on, Natalie Kabra!"

"As you American peasants say," Natalie said flatly, producing a small bottle from her first aid kit and handing it to Amy. "Bring it." She looked at Dan straight in the eyes.

Their staring contest broke off by the beckoning sound of the doorbell.

xXxXXoXXxXx

**Done! ****BUZZ to those of you who are Annoying Orange fans. **

**So you've met them. Mr. Manager~sama and Mr. SPTFR! Yey! I don't know why but I'm pretty sure they exist. [Of course we do!] That was Mr. Manager~sama. ****(Couldn't be Mr. Singing-Purple-Tutu-Flying Rabbit. He's a rabbit, and rabbits don't talk. Geez, and people call me crazy.) See what I mean? [What do you mean?]**

**You know those thingies that you solve when reading The 39 Clues? Like codes and stuff? I'm thinking of having one of those and post them along with each chapter. [Who cares?] I don't know why, but I do. Do you think something is really wrong with me? [Yeah I do.] Whaddaya think? Should I or should I not? [If you ask me...]**

**Question of the Day:**

**How old do you think I am? And WHY? **

***I'll be looking forward to your answers. I'll totally give a virtual 'Procrastinators, Unite!' shirt to the first one who will say that I came from a weird planet and that my age should be kept secret. And that he/she is my long lost childhood friend. And that Darth Vader teamed up with Barney to abduct us. Or something like that.***

**! How do you get a beta reader? Do you ask them personally? And what exactly are the things which are on their range of duty? [What is with the 'range of duty'?]  
><strong>

**~~ People will always kick you and make you fall down. It's up to you whether you'll kick them back or kick them back harder. ~~**

**Until then,  
><strong>

**MuchLove, PeaceOut!**

**AngelicSpring.**


	3. 2 The Triplets, The Message and The Help

**Again, my deepest gratitude to those who reviewed Ch 1. Thank you for the alerts and favourites, too. I am not going to enumerate you guys anymore, since I already sent you PMs. (If you didn't receive one, go give me a smack on the head. Wahaha. **** ) **

**Short chapter, if I may say so myself. I hope the main code below will make up for it. **

**Waah! Read The Throne of Fire and Beastly for two days. And they are... A-ma-zing! Wahahaha. Go Anubis! Go Adrian! Mwahaha.**

**Dun-duh-duh-dun! THE DISCLAIMER:**

**ME: I do not own The 39 Clues. I do not own iPhone. I do not own Barbie. I do not own Sherlock. The End.**

**Mr. Manager~sama: Well. That's dry. (looks disappointedly at me from the couch)**

**ME: Like you can do better.**

**Mr. Manager~sama: Of course I can! (prepares to stand with a grunt; gives up; shakes head) You know what? I think you did perfect! (smiles sweetly)**

**ME: (smiles smugly) 'Course I did! **

**Percy Jackson: (walks in with a huge yawn; fan girls faint) Hey.**

**ME: Sup. (type, type)**

**Percy Jackson: You seen Annabeth?**

**ME: Kickin' Minotaur butt. (backspace, backspace)**

**Percy Jackson: (shrugs) She never gets tired doing that, huh?**

**ME: Stress relief. (click, click)**

**Percy Jackson: Huh. Tell her I'm finishing my 'small talk' with Kronos, would ya? (grabs lemon squares) Hey, Manager. (Mr. Manager~sama nods lazily)**

**ME: 'Kay. (exit Percy) **

**Annabeth Chase: (stomps in; fan boys make a standing ovation) Where's Perseus Jackson?**

**ME: Kickin' Kronos butt. (type, type, type)**

**Annabeth Chase: Tell him this: 'Try being late for tonight's dinner, Jackson, and you'll be Minotaur feed. **

**ME: Let me get this straight. I tell him to get his lazy butt to tonight's dinner or else he's done.**

**Annabeth Chase: Perfect! Later. (exits)**

**ME: (shakes head; snorts) Demigods. **

**(Camera zooms in on Mr. Manager~sama)**

**Mr. Manager~sama: She does not own Percy and Annabeth. 'Cause if she did...**

**On with story! Hah!**

xXxXXoXXxXx

Chapter 2: The Triplets, The Message and The Help

Sixteen-year-olds Sinead, Ted and Ned Starling stood on the Cahill doorstep. The boys were grinning, while their sister couldn't really care less. All of them are wearing cashmere sweaters, (which was odd because the weather is warm enough) and khakis. The only way you could differentiate the two boys, is by their sweaters. Ned is wearing a brown, striped one, while Ted is wearing blue. Sinead is wearing a lavender turtleneck. The sweaters went in contrast with their fiery auburn hair; Sinead's tied back in a half ponytail. The triplets looked so scholarly. As they were supposed to. They went to college at a young age. All of them were bringing a pair of duffel bags and a laptop case. Easy to bring, easy to access: Cahill meter; check!

"Hey," Ned greeted, smiling hugely.

"Guys!" Ted finished, his grin completely identical to his twin.

Hamilton beamed. How the Starlings amuse him is beyond him. "That never gets old, does it?" He was about to chuckle when he saw Sinead looking pointedly at him. He quickly clamped his mouth shut. What is with that girl?

Sinead took in the scenario in front of her. "_Why_... is Dan Cahill poking Natalie Kabra with a pair of drumsticks?" She shrugged, thinking that might be normal. She tilted her head in surprise. "And _why_... is Ian Kabra holding an ice pack on his forehead at," she checked her watch, "10:04 in the morning?"

"_Why..._ don't you come in first?" Amy said, dodging the topic. Hamilton nodded, still nervous about opening his mouth to say something in front of Sinead. He even offered to carry her bags, an idea that surprised Sinead. Ned and Ted pushed each other trying to pass through the doorway first. It ended when Ned went stumbling down the steps.

Once they were settled in the living room and everybody was already full of chocolate chip cookies (except for Dan and Hamilton because they were busy competing on whoever gets to eat the most), the story of this morning's events has been told and retold, earning pounds of laughter.

"So, would you guys answer our questions now?" Dan said, gulping down an entire glass of orange juice.

Everybody looked at him enquiringly. Natalie raised her eyebrows, looking confused and revolted at the same time. Dan had an orange moustache and cookie crumbs all over him. Sinead was doing the same, appraising Hamilton's appearance. The two sighed quietly.

Dan wiped his face with his shirt, making Natalie's face contort into a look of utter disgust. "What are _you_ doing here?" He meant for the question to be for everybody, but he emphasized the word 'you' and glanced at Natalie accusingly. The girl made a face at him, flipping her hair superiorly.

"That is exactly..." Ned mused, eyebrows crinkling.

"What we're thinking," Ted continued, tilting his head.

Ian bit his lip, and glanced at Amy. She looked as confused as Dan was. "Curious," he mumbled. He said louder, "But, Amy, love, did you not send us an email?" Amy started and widened her eyes.

Hamilton raised his hand, like he was a student in a classroom. "I received a text message." His sisters nodded vigorously.

"I did, too," Sinead chimed in, fishing her phone out of her khaki's pocket.

"B-b-but... I-I didn't..." Amy said, looking at her fingers.

Natalie suddenly looked smug. "I told you, that wasn't how she talks." She glared at her brother. Ian ignored her, busy looking at his iPhone probably for Amy's email. She made a face at him, and set about flicking imaginary dust on her red, sequined Chanel dress.

"Not the way I..." Amy panicked. "Why... What did the email say?"

All of them started reading the message. Hamilton led.

"To all Cahills present in the gauntlet, this is Amy Cahill contacting you in behalf of the Madrigals," his deep voice sounded seriously alert.

Sinead read next. "All you who read this message are graciously invited to stay with us at the renovated manor of the late Grace Cahill in Attleboro."

"The reasons as to why this is urgent will be explained by me when you have already arrived," Ian read, his accent sounding highly different from the former readers.

"Amy," Hamilton and Sinead concluded, followed by Ian who said, "Love, Amy."

Ian looked up from his iPhone, only to see the sceptical faces of his comrades. Amy, however, had her head bowed in embarrassment, her ears flushed pink. "What?" he asked. "Love..., Amy...?" Hamilton asked slowly, as if that is the most impossible thing in the world. Comprehension dawned on Ian as he realized what he just read out loud. He began being defensive. "I just read what is said here," he said, showing everybody the email.

Dan snorted. "Like my dear sister would say that." He paused and thought for a moment. "Not that she wouldn't actually say the last part, but..."

"D-Dan!" Amy complained, blushing harder. She threw one of the square pillows on the couch at him. Dan deftly dodges it, and continues on speaking. "As much as I hate it, I agree with dumb Natalie," he pointed his thumb at her. "Amy does not speak that way. She's a nerd, but not that much of a nerd. Thank Jupiter she's not."

Amy cleared her throat loudly. "Thank you, Dan, for that enlightening statement," she grimaced at her still-musing brother. "And by enlightening, I meant completely dim-witted and unnecessary." Amy mustered every courage she has to look at everybody, and gathered every dignity she has left. "But I do have an idea as to who would send such... such message." She pursed her lips. "Uncle Fiske has a flair for formal conversations."

"'Love, Amy,'" Dan quoted, making quotation marks in the air. "You think Uncle Fiske would say something like that?" He snorted again. "When pigs fly, and have zebra babies."

Amy shot him a dark look. "I was getting there," she replied irritably. She huffed. "Though Uncle Fiske made the message, Nellie probably sent it."

Dan nodded approvingly. "That makes sense."

"Nellie?" Natalie asked. "Is that the name of your –"

"Try saying babysitter, brunette Barbie..." Dan warned. People just don't get the difference between babysitter and au pair!

"I was going to say nanny," Natalie replied, rolling her eyes. "I have always thought her name was something between Bessie and Chessy." She sighed, disappointed. Oh well, can't memorize every name, she thought. Dan rolled his eyes and muttered things about stupid people who only care about vanity.

"But you do know why we're sent here, right?" Sinead asked, blowing a strand of stray hair from her forehead. Hamilton saw this out of his peripheral vision, and had the sudden thought of brushing it away for her. He shook the thought away, feeling slightly alarmed.

Amy nodded, though she looked quite unsure. She looked as though she was having a deep debate with herself. "I do have an idea. But we'll have to wait for them to come, for me to be sure." She fiddled with her fingers again, then at her clothes.

"Well, when are Fiske and Nellie going to come home?" Reagan asked. Madison nods her curiosity, "Yeah when?"

"Well, I wasn't talking about them..." Amy replied. Now, she started twirling her hair into a bridle.

"No?" Ted asked, an eyebrow raised. "Who then?" Ned queried.

"A couple of Madrigals who are staying with us," Dan said, stuffing a couple of chocolate chips in his mouth. "Angelle and Keightlyn... They stay here when Uncle Fiske and Nellie are not here." He stuffed another couple.

"Swallow," Amy commanded, standing up. "They should be here by now, right?" She glanced nervously at the grandfather's clock.

"Jonah and his cousin whatshisname should also be here," Sinead noted.

Ian chuckled. "Not surprising his late, really. Hollywood and all. They're probably recording or something." Natalie smiled in approval, relating with what her brother said. The Kabra siblings can only attend too much photo shoots and interviews.

"Abby and Keight will help us with... uh..." Amy trailed off, not knowing how to continue. She looked at her brother for support.

"With stuff," Dan finished, gulping the last of his juice.

"Thank you, Sherlock," she replied sarcastically.

"You're always welcome, Captain Sarcasm." He smiled sweetly at her.

"Well, Sergeants of Camp Vague," Hamilton added, annoyed that nobody explained anything.

Surprise, surprise.

xXxXXoXXxXx

**I know, I know. It was boring. (dodges blueberry pie) Wahaha. I'm sorry. I'll do better next time. Hmm... It's just school's coming and *freaks out***

**I'll probably upload, seven days from now... Which is... May 29. Or 30. Wahaha. (Don't you love evil laughs?) Mwahaha. Please continue reading this first try at fan fiction. Explanations are coming our way. Oh and yeah, I recently found out from a very nice and friendly reviewer that flaming means the same as pointing out mistakes! Wahaha. So, hey, flames widely appreciated. Command to commence OPERATION: Type and Update also accepted. Requests for vanilla ice cream also accepted. (Wha?)  
><strong>

**Anyway, here's the code. If you solve it, the next few codes will be easy as pie. (dodges another blueberry pie) Okay, I get it. What's so easy about pie? I tried making one once, it looked like it was submerged in acid, got run over by a truck and then murdered over and over again. Whew. Okay, got it. Here's the code:**

**I went to the cabinet to look for the BLACK BOOK of BURIED SECRETS, so that I may study more about RAOUL LUFBERY and the NOTE he found. I took the VESPERS RISING as well. I was going DOWNSTAIRS, shuffling through the pages, when I TOPPLED/ROLLED DOWN TWENTY STEPS. TWENTY STEPS DOWN! Everything was blurred like I was seeing things BACKWARD, or was it forward? Then the letters hit me.**

**That code is easier if you have the books mentioned. *sigh* I am such a boring person. (waits for pie) The main code is like, the pattern on how to solve the whole thing. More codes in each chapter :) Wahahahah - (pie came)  
><strong>

**Question of the Day:**

**If you were given a million dollars, you would...? Why do you think you've been given a million dollars?  
><strong>

**Until next time,**

**MuchLove, PeaceOut!**

**AngelicSpring.**


	4. Chapter 3

**Hiya guys! I. AM. BACK! Okay, so I have been away because of HECTIC reasons. I mean, who becomes hectic during SUMMER? Bad news: TEN DAYS LEFT OF FREEDOM **** I know, I know. Another bad news: Eva is leaving. Most of you know about this, but I can't seem to get over it. I found out about it like, yesterday, I think. So I uploaded early, and I would like to say that this chapter (though not good) is for you Evanescence456. I hope that wherever you are, you will be always happy and strong-willed and brave. I know that your awesomeness won't leave you for even a second. A lot of people will miss you and that includes moi. **** Thank you so much for everything. And I do mean, everything **** I hope that you'll be able to read this simple message of mine. MuchLove, PeaceOut, Eva!**

***sniffles, sniffles* That said, this chapter includes new people. And a little AmIan. I'm not good with mushy, cheesy stuff, so bear with me. **

**DISCLAIMER:**

**ME: No matter what happens, I don't own The 39 Clues. As proof of this statement, on my birthday last May 20, I wished for that to happen, but it didn't. Apparently, birthday candles don't accept that kind of wish. I tried again, this time with a tooth fairy. Some kid's tooth fell out, and I told the tooth fairy instead of money I'd rather become the owner of 39 Clues. (And if you're wondering what the kid felt... He didn't know, actually.) But apparently, the tooth fairy can't do that, too. 'Nuff said. **

**Mr. Manager~sama: And as you can see, AngelicSpring is still a living WEIRDO. **

**You may now read.**

xXxXXoXXxXx

Chapter 3: The Introduction, The Deduction and The Piano

"It's really nice to meet you all," Angelle and Keightlyn Saunders said, bowing low. All of them are still catching up in the living room when the two Madrigal sisters came.

Dan nudged Natalie with his elbow. "Now, those are real girls," he sniggered. Natalie rolled her eyes, and mouthed 'wow' sarcastically.

"These are the Holts, from the Tomas branch," Amy gestured at the widely-grinning, purple-tracksuit-clad trio. "Hamilton Holt, the eldest." Hamilton offered a crooked smile, and a "Sup!" "And the twins, Reagan and Madison Holt."

"The Starlings," Amy said, nodding at the formally smiling triplets, "are from the Ekat branch." "Sinead Starling," Sinead said, holding out her hand. The two girls shook her hand warmly. "This is Ned," said Ted, pointing at his brother. "And this is Ted," countered Ned, pointing at his brother. "And they're idiots," Sinead sighed. "Hey!" came the offended reply from the two brothers. Hamilton let out all the suppressed humor he had for the Starlings. Even Sinead proffered a minute smile.

Amy shook her head at the display. "The Kabras," Amy eyed the siblings.

"From the Lucian branch, I presume," the older noted, Angelle Saunders, a seventeen-year-old blonde. Her little sister, Keightlyn Saunders, a twelve-year-old Barbie doll, smiled at the two of them, highly amused.

"We do give that air of Lucian-ness, don't we?" Natalie remarked flippantly.

Dan snickered. "What air of Lucian-ness?"

"That's for us to know and for you to never find out," Natalie replied haughtily. Her eyes gleamed provokingly. The two of them started giving each other 'Why-you-little' looks.

"Anyway," Amy looked pointedly at the both of them, "they are just some of the Cahills who will be staying here."

The girl named Angelle tilted her head sideways. "The Janus branch? Won't they be here?" she raised. There was something hidden in her tone, like she was expecting more of the artistic branch's company than the others. Keightlyn seemed as curious as her sister.

"Jonah and his cousin are stars, idols," Hamilton said. "Surely you've heard of 'The Wiz'," he rolled his eyes at the chosen pen name of his cousin.

"Oh, but of course," the little one spoke up, glancing shrewdly at her older sister. "We know them all too well." Ian Kabra watched this slight exchange discreetly, can't help but feeling that the two girls know something more than what they look like. He toyed with his iPhone, twirling it with his thumb and index finger. He scrutinized their appearances the way an educated Lucian would, as the others immersed into a deep get-to-know conversation.

The older one, Angelle Saunders seems very knowledgeable. The way she holds her slim posture professionally, like a trained ballerina, gave away that impression. _More like a Madrigal spy_, Ian thought amusedly. Her squared shoulders matched the glint in her slate gray eyes, giving the impression of being smart, but mischievous. She's blonde, but not the curly-girly blonde. In fact, her blonde hair fell long and straight against her back, with full bangs framing her face. She's more like Amy on the fashion side. With what she's wearing now; a hoodie on top of a gray shirt, a pair of camouflage pants and plain white trainers. _Simple, homey and... Amy is a lot better with the naturalness, though,_ Ian noticed instantly. _Maybe Amy's not much on the confidence side, but definitely with the beauty part..._ He flinched in surprise, dropping his phone in the process. He caught the weird looks they were giving him. The looks were gone as easily as they came. The excited debate between orange juice and grape juice commenced once more.

"Here's your phone," Amy handed it to him. "You're lucky that thing has a cover."

"My apologies," he mumbles, gripping the bloody phone like it was a lifesaver. _Why did I have to think that? Stupid, bloody worn-out mind,_ he thought furiously. He felt the same thudding heart and swirling stomach he has been feeling these past few days – months... well actually years but really, who's counting? – whenever he thinks about the red-haired, green-eyed girl.

_Now where was I..._ He pretended to check his iPhone for any damages. Keightlyn Saunders is not entirely different from her sister. A blonde, too with the same knowing gray eyes even at her young age. Though from where Angelle is straight-haired, Keightlyn is curled. Where Angelle is simple, Keightlyn is preppy, more of the girly side. She and Natalie would get along just fine. Frilly pink skirt with purple, skull-print leggings and high-cut trainers. _Trainers, huh_, he mused. _That shows they're always ready to be, say, on the run, _he commented._ Typical Cahill, always on the run. _

"Ian...?" someone called tentatively.

"Hmm...?" he replied, his eyes still fixed on his phone, unable to shy away from his thoughts.

"A-Actually... D-Do you...? I mean, the rest are..."

Ian finally looked up. Only one person could blubber that much, trying to get a single sentence out. Amy Cahill. And she was alone. Huh, the others must have found something new to destroy.

"Yes, love?" he asked, smiling crookedly, his lip twitching higher to the left. To Amy, it looked like one of his famous smirks. Clearly, they need to work on their communication.

Amy bit back a blush. She steeled her nerves and did her best to seem intimidating. "I thought you seriously got over the love-calling thing."

Ian took in the stubborn set of her jaw, the glaring fire in her deep green eyes, the way her cute nose twitches betraying her desire to look angry and demanding. He just had to laugh.

Amy, on the other side of the living room, is thinking how his olive-black hair bounced when he threw his head back in laughter. The way he clutched his stomach, the way he... the way he laughs made him look more like his age. A sixteen-year-old guy without the burden of a sixty-year-old man.

Ian must've mistaken Amy's silent looking at him as a look of exasperation, because he stopped abruptly. "I'm so sorry, Amy. It's just that... you amuse me all too much."

"Glad to be your amusement," Amy muttered, feeling like a complete idiot. What is with this guy's mood?

"No, no. That's not what I meant," he waved his hand dismissively, as if to make the thought go away. He leaned against the grand piano and punched a few notes. _Why is talking to Amy Cahill always this hard? Always confusing? Always so...?_

"Don't tell me you can play the piano, too," Amy said. She started walking towards him. Ian Kabra felt a sickening, tumbling sensation in his stomach as her figure neared him.

He swallowed a forming lump in his throat. "Of course I do. I play the harpsichord, don't I? I learned how to play the piano before that. Any requests?" He sat on the piano stool with the air of a maestro. He could feel the heat from Amy behind his back. _How close is she?_ He wanted so bad to turn around, even slightly, to check. But he kept his composure, and waited for Amy to speak.

Amy fumbled through the stacked music sheets. "Actually, I'm having a hard time with this piece." She handed it to him and, (you guessed it) their hands brushed. Longer and longer and nobody's letting go and... Ian took the music sheet, and cleared his throat. "Would you like to take a seat?" he patted the empty space, dangerously close to him.

Amy weighed her options. If she refused, she'd look more like an idiot. _Sure, Amy, sit on that chair and you'll end up hurled towards a massive black hole with an active volcano._ What's the harm, right? Wrong. It's Ian Kabra. The Ian Kabra. The Ian Kabra who left her in a cave to die in Korea. Who very nearly turned her into a buffet for the sharks with his Cruella of a mother in Australia. Who very nearly cause the death of her brother in Africa. Who manages to break her heart and repair it all over again. That Ian Kabra. If she sits there, who knows what her hyperactive heart will do? _Oh that's right, make her blush to shades of red unknown to man! _

Ian was looking at her expectantly. It was one of his Please sit/Don't sit moments. Like when you wanted something so bad, but you're afraid of the outcome if you did get what you wanted. Ugh. How confusing could he get?

She sat.

"So you just flick these three fingers really fast," Ian pressed the keys with a slight movement from his fingers. "You get to have that flowing sound." He smiled at her. "You try."

Amy placed her fingers on the black and white ivory keys. She tried once. It sounded like a crashing soundtrack from the cartoons. She sighed. "I can't –" she began hopelessly. Ian placed his fingers on top of Amy's. Warmth and tingling sensations flooded her senses. Make that _their _senses. _And the indigestion is back,_ Ian thought ruefully. "Let's do it together," Ian suggested. _There!_ Amy mentally slapped herself. _That's exactly what I have been dreading of. The clove smell. The touch. The breath on my cheek._ Ian made a mental note to check if he has food poisoning or something. Too much caviar probably. His stomach won't stop flip-flopping. He started pressing the keys with Amy. After two tries, it was pitch perfect. Ian turned to smile at her. "See. That not hard, now was it?" he exclaimed suavely, though the subtle shakiness of his voice betrayed him.

"Yep, that wasn't so hard!" said someone from behind them. Jonah Wizard and the others were standing a few feet away from them, but obviously they have been watching everything. All of them were wearing this 'Oh-no-you-didn't' looks, especially Dan and Natalie who looked just plain disgusted and disappointed. "This is Jonah Wizard," Jonah removed his darkly-tinted shades dramatically and grinned, "and you've been SPIED!"

xXxXXoXXxXx

**Jonah Wizard is in the building. I repeat, Jonah Wizard is in the building. Over. And this chapter is really boring. Over. I know, I know. But we're nearing the climax. The drama, the lovey-dovey (did I just say that?), the fights, the contests, the other antagonists. Please hang on a bit more. **

**Okay, so my newbie~ness showed up. Flames are bad, right? Then why do people do it? Hmm... To make the writer stop writing or something? Hm... Curious. So what I need are CCs. Okay. Uh-huh. *installing it in grey matter* Got it. And R&R means, Read and Review? Mwahaha. Thank you for those people who corrected me. **

**And if you are wondering, the piece Amy and Ian are playing is Shinichi's Song (Osenchi na Ayumi). I'm learning that now, and I'm halfway there! Woo! *ahem* Listen to it, it's really, really nice, good, awesome, fantastic... *ahem***

**Code Time: (A lot of people told me the main code was hard. I think if you look at this one, you'll get it. I think.)**

Qbyh Nby Nigum Vywigym Nby Duhom

**Yeah. Just apply the previous code and you'll come up of something. First clue, the answer has something to do with my summary. Second clue, it's like that code from the Lucians. The one written on Raoul L's note. The one he found in the BBoBS. **

**Question of the Day:**

**If you think boys came from a different planet, cite two things girls and boys don't agree on. **

**I don't have much of an opinion on that, because I'm from an all-girls school. Huh. And I'd never paid much attention. More Huh. **

**Until Then,**

**MuchLove, PeaceOut!  
>AngelicSpring.<strong>


	5. Chapter 4

**If you're in front of your computer/laptop/whatever gadget humankind so cleverly made yet again that allows you to go to any website, and you are seeing this message, it means that, yes, it is time for another Start of Train chapter. **

**That's a stupid introduction. Anyways, what did I do while I was gone? Let's see... I went on a mission with Jackie Chan, ate tuna sashimi with Shida Mirai and Kamiki Ryunosuke and finished ten episodes for my latest tv show... PSYCHE! Of course not, in my dreams. I did my chores like boring, normal teenager. I dreaded the coming of school like boring, normal teenager. And I fell out of bed yesterday, making me wake up at five in the stinking morning! Again, like a boring, normal person. **

**Belated happy birthday to us, JanusGirl101! And happy birthday to those people who are celebrating it today! (See how thoughtful I am?) Thank you for the reviews guys! You make me happy without fail. Honest! Like when I'm really, really down and when there's a new review and everything becomes happy again. *mushy music playing* Wow, didn't see that one coming.**

**DISCLAIMER:**

**ME: (groans) Ugh. Ugh. Ugh.**

**Mr. Manager~sama: What's wrong now? (American Idol Grand Finale blaring from the television)**

**ME: My head is killing me!**

**Mr. Manager~sama: Take it off, then.**

**ME: (raises eyebrows at him)**

**Captain Jack Sparrow: Jack Sparrow reporting for duty! I can point names and name f– (looks at the company in front of him) And you lot don't care, do you? Fine! (clears throat) AngelicSpring does not own The 39 Clues and a whole lot of other things that you think she does not own because you know of other people who own them personally. I'm outta here! (exits)**

**ME: Wow.**

**Mr. Manager~sama: (nods knowingly) And you wonder why I'm like this.**

**ME: YOU ROCK, JACK SPARROW! (raises hands in the air)**

**Captain Jack Sparrow: (voice comes from nowhere) Yes, well, I believe there should be a captain in there, too.**

**On with the chapter. *evil laugh* **** because I feel like it **

xXxXXoXXxXx

Chapter 4: The Stitch, The Change and The Revelation

Dan and Natalie are still on their childish silent treatment modes. They picked at the food in front of them. Lunch time. 

_Curse the gods of fate who arranged this get-together. Seriously! All of them leave to answer the doorbell and poof! Amy and that Cobra made their own little piano world. Disgusting!_

If there was one thing Dan realized during the hunt, it was families are messy. 

_And that's normal families in a manner of speaking! Try living with their family._

Families that gave birth to the most powerful presidents, the most ingenious scientists, the most athletic and talented people. Napoleon Bonaparte, Nikola Tesla, Annie Oakley, Harry Houdini, to name a few. And Dan means it, when he said few. It all started with the hunt.

The hunt is not just a hunt. 

_Vague? I know, right?_

It's a clue hunt. To put it lightly, it's like a scavenger hunt where you look for ingredients, which we call Clues, around the world. Then in the end when you get all the ingredients, you get to choose whether or not you mix up a deadly, world-domination-purposes-only serum/potion. 

_The catch? While you go gallivanting around the world looking for these ingredients that may or may not kill you, your dear, darling relatives set up plots – PLOTS – to murder you, steal the Clues from you, and just mainly get you out of the hunt. As an opening remark, your deceased grandmother's lawyer tells you to 'trust no one'. Yeah, just after your grandmother's death – the only person who does not treat you like dirt, or understands when you 'accidentally' caught your classroom on fire, or takes you to cemeteries just for your grave rubbings – you get this note that says, 'Hey! You're part of the most powerful family in the planet! You're about to change the world, and just one wrong move... Well, civilization ends. But, dude, no pressure!'_

_Exciting, innit?_

It gets more exciting when you invite these dear, darling relatives to stay in your home for god-knows how long.

Dan sighed.

_But you know, past is past, and all that mushy garbage. Everybody changed. Not entirely, but you know, we're getting there. At least nobody's tried to kill anybody in the last four hours._

The Starlings, members of the Ekat branch, the smartest of the Cahills, are less – _I don't know_ – we're-so-smart-hail-our-unbelievable-geniuses attitude.

The Holts, members of the Tomas branch, the strongest of the Cahills, are less –_well, you can't say buff, 'cause your neck will snap_ – aggressive. Yeah, that's the term.

The Wizards, members of the Janus branch, the most artistic of them all, are less – _artistic, nah. Phoenix is still bringing a guitar and a keyboard with him. Is that even normal?_ – less cocky. At least Jonah is. Living and growing up in Hollywood, having a world-class artist for a mom, selling billion-dollar records in one minute flat (don't ask, that actually happened. It wasn't pretty) does that.

And then, here we have the Kabras, members of the Lucian branch, the most cunning strategists of the Cahills. Dan gave Natalie the dagger look, and made a disgusted face at her. Fortunately, she was busy looking at herself in her hand-held mirror, and dabbing on a miniscule imperfection on her mascara. The Kabras probably have the biggest change compared to the rest. I mean, living with lies and deception. Born to kill and all that. Only literally. Yep, they've changed. He shot another glare at Natalie. _Except for Brunette Barbie here. She's an egotistical idiot, and that would never change._

So you're probably wondering about the Madrigals. 

_Yeah. Amy and I are Madrigals and we're the good guys._

The others are on their way to being Madrigals. On their way means they are passing the test. Passing being an objective word. Dan pursed his lips thoughtfully. 

_We're the ones who wanted our family back together after endless years of fighting, murdering and betraying one another. The hardest part is, knowing that we had to forgive the person who made us miserable. Isabel Kabra, Ian and Natalie's mom. She, who murdered our parents in cold blood by setting our house on fire. Along with the others' parents._

But Dan doesn't remember all that. He might be gifted with photographic memory, but being four years old and all. Amy does, though. Whenever he sees his sister remembering the night of the fire, he can't help but guiltily feel thankful that he scarcely remembers anything. On the down side, he barely remembers the pleasant memories. He can catch glimpses of waffles with colourful faces, sounds of piano being played by their father. But that's that.

The Vespers and Cahills have been enemies for five hundred years now.

_And counting. Stupid, right?_

Having your great-great-great (23x great) grandchildren fight your fights? When you're fighting to get to the top of the world and own it (like factually), things like that becomes normal. The stitch though, the Vespers are not a family. They don't have the same bloodline no matter how many times removed they are from the family tree. They recruit people, make them their own, blind them with the possibilities of power.

_In your face Vespers. We are family. I've got all my sisters... and brothers... and au pairs with me. Yeah, yeah, yeah._

He stopped with his reminiscing and mental karaoke before things could get sappier and weirder. _Man,_ Dan thought, _those sounded a lot less cheesier in my head._

"Hey, who's cookin' the food? Yo," Jonah drawled, using her gangsta image. Phoenix rolled his eyes. Whoever thought of Who Wants to be a Gangsta? is so dead, he thought.

"We have another help actually," Amy said, "aside from the two Madrigals with us. He comes every lunch time and stays until dinner. He cooks every meal with those two. We call him Gustavo."

"Two Madrigals?" Phoenix asked. Amy nodded.

"Angelle," Ned and Ted said. "And Keightlyn," Madison and Reagan chorused.

"That is just disturbing," Natalie commented. Dan chose that moment to disagree with her, just to be annoying. "No it's not. You know I watched a movie about clones and how they try to eat each other because they all wanted to be unique and stuff. It's so cool. And there was go–"

"Wait, did you say, Angel?" Jonah asked. It can't be Angelle, right? As in with the posh spelling? With the extra _–le_? It can't be her, right?

"And Katelyn?" Phoenix added. It can't be Keightlyn, right? As in with the unusual spelling? With the number 'eight' word which happens to be their favourite number? Because it's their birthdates? Jonah and Phoenix glanced at each other nervously. They can't be the Saunders, right?

"A-n-g-e-l-l-e," her voice came from the kitchen, nearing and nearing. "And K-e-i-g-h-t-l-y-n," the second voice came closer than the first. The Wizards' worst nightmares came into view. "Saunders," they said together, their arms crossed over their chests. The two girls were looking at the Wizards accusingly. Jonah and Phoenix paled, looking as though they saw the Ghosts of the Christmas Past. Which, to be precise, is true. The past came to haunt them.

"I'm so dead," they breathed, locked in the gray eyes of their predators.

xXxXXoXXxXx

"So let us get this straight, you guys know each other?" Amy checked, still dubious about the scene in front of her. Dubious and disbelieving. Angelle Saunders has Jonah Wizard in a headlock. The Jonah Wizard. In a headlock. It's like seeing Barney in a tux, and singing One Time with choreography. All of them wanted to kick this person who looked exactly like Jonah Wizard to make sure he's not an impersonator. Kick him continuously, with occasional smacking. Then he spoke up, "Let go, woman! Don't you know this face is insured?" He tried in vain to pry Angelle's hands off his head.

Yep, that is Jonah Wizard.

"What I cannot believe," Ian cogitated, raising his eyebrows at the pathetic attempt for a brawl in front of him, "is that the four of you are childhood mates. We heard correctly, right?"

Phoenix Wizard glimpsed quickly at the scowling Keightlyn. "Uh... yeah."

Keightlyn's gray eyes flashed dangerously at him. "Is that uncertainty I hear, Phoenix Theodore Wizard?" she demanded.

"N-no ma'am!" he answered quickly, flinching away in fear. He cringed as her eyes shone severely.

"Wow," Hamilton said. Never had he seen guys so afraid of girls before. He gave a fleeting look at Sinead. Oh wait.

"Sad to say, we are childhood friends," Angelle muttered, flicking Jonah on the forehead. "Childhood friends before this idiot left without another word, forgets my birthday, forgets to send me Christmas cards, forgets that I EXIST!" She let Jonah out of the headlock. He inhales sharply, glad to have the air back in his lungs. Then Angelle starts slapping his head back and forth.

Dan and Hamilton looked at each other. "Cool," they chorused. Suddenly their eyes lit up with evil twinkle. They started hitting each other on the head. Then they proceeded to wrestle each other. For some unknown cause, they managed to roll out the living room.

The conversation continued like nothing happened.

"I didn't forget you exist," Jonah griped, grabbing at Angelle's flailing wrists. His hands smoothly glided through the clenched fingers. He gripped Angelle's wrists tightly. "I just didn't have the time."

"Are you going to say that you didn't have the time, too?" Keightlyn demanded, shooting a dirty look at Phoenix.

"N-n-not if y-you don't w-want me t-to." Phoenix cleared his throat shakily.

Keight crossed her arms challengingly. "What's your reason then, oh mighty music prodigy?"

Phoenix swallowed audibly. "Uh... you know..."

There was a sickening thud somewhere outside. Phoenix sighed in relief. "I have a feeling that somebody got hurt," Sinead declared, standing up lazily. She stretched her arms. Then came Dan's and Hamilton's voice, "OW!" The Starlings grinned. "I am always right, aren't I?" Sinead grinned at all of them. Madison and Reagan shrugged, and continued with their arm wrestling. That is normal after all. A day without injury is like a day without food for a Holt, let alone a Tomas. It's essential. Amy and Ian sighed. This is going to be one long stay. Natalie looked disinterested. She was busy looking at a fashion magazine (not yet published, of course) and gave a princess-worthy yawn. Sinead glanced at the first aid kit beside Natalie's feet. "Natalie," Sinead called. The coffee-skinned girl looked up at her lazily. Sinead continued. "Do you mind coming with me? To help those nincompoops? You're the only one with a first aid kit, so..."

Natalie Kabra stood up on her high-heeled Jimmy Choos. "This is so annoying. Why don't we just give them the bag and let them get whatever they needed?"

Ian rolled his eyes at the logic of his sister. "Because, Natalie, if you do that, Daniel will end up smearing sleeping potion all over him. Or, make himself a mummy using the bandages. Or, poke himself with a syringe just for the fun of it." He paused, his words sinking in. He quickly looked at Amy apologetically. "No offense, Amy."

"What?" Amy stared at him blankly. Then she smiled. "No, no. None taken. What you said is true anyway."

Natalie has her lips pursed in thought. "Ian, about those things you said. I just want to know... Those would be bad because...?" She faced them innocently. She saw the dark look Ian was giving her and completely changed course. "But of course, I'd be happy to help!" She smiled cheerily at Sinead and took her by the hand. Ned, Ted, Reagan and Madison stood up as well, and followed them. They wouldn't miss any opportunity to see people in pain, especially if those people happen to be Dan and Hamilton.

"Now, you could explain in peace," Amy said. It's a small world after all. Long-time-no-see childhood friends, meeting like this. Such a lucky coincidence. Wait... What was she thinking? We're talking Cahills here. Of course, it's no coincidence. "Somehow you knew Jonah and Phoenix will be here...?" she hinted, looking at the Saunders.

"Blonde stalker," Jonah muttered, rubbing his head briskly. Angelle flicked his head again. "What was that?" she asked. "Nothing," he muttered darkly.

Keightlyn's beautiful face contorted into a look of utter disgust. "Why would we stalk these idiots?" She glared at Phoenix. "We were just given information about Cahills teaming up. Madrigals are on the lead, and we were asked to give assistance. About time really." Phoenix nodded eagerly at everything she said.

Ian grimaced at Phoenix' reaction. "With that, you deduced that the Janus branch would be coming to the Cahill mansion, is that it?" He leaned forward, and rested his chin on his intertwined fingers. "How did you know that the Wizards are the ones coming here and not some other member?" He eyed them, as if an interrogation. "Were you told about the gauntlet?"

Angelle matched his calmness. "We do know about the gauntlet, where it is and what it means. But the recent events... We were just given the names of the people involved and words of information. As in words."

"Like? Besides our names, I mean." He was still on his Sherlock Holmes impression.

"Isabel." Amy and Ian flinched at the name. Amy avoided looking at Ian, not even a quick glimpse. She felt him stiffen beside her though, so that kind of made up for the not-looking. Ian's poker face remained intact, but his amber eyes suddenly seemed darker. Angelle and Keightlyn were still oblivious, while Jonah and Phoenix evaded the urge to move an inch. "Master Serum," Angelle continued, ticking them off with her fingers. "Ingredients shared. And something about... Vespers."

Phoenix Wizard rubbed his bandaged wrist absently. Keight noticed the movement and did not let it pass. "What did you do now?" she asked, grabbing his arm. "Played too much guitar? Piano? Or guitar and piano?" She sighed, remembering all those times that he broke his arm. Phoenix didn't respond. She looked at the intricately wrapped bandages. She glanced at the others who were suddenly silent. Awkward stillness hung over them for a minute before she realized what it meant. "Have they attacked?" she breathed. Phoenix nodded. Angelle and Keightlyn turned wide-eyed to face Ian and Amy.

Amy let out a long breath. "Uncle Fiske would so kill me for telling you this, but – and I quote," she added quickly. "He thinks that like us, you deserve a break, too. That you deserve a carefree childhood. Something about happy youth ruined by our lineage."

"Hah. Cahills? Carefree? Those words just don't come in the same sentence," Jonah said.

"I agree," Ian stood up, pacing towards the huge glass window. He gazed outside. "And I guess, this is where you'll tell us why we are here."

"I was strictly advised that the only ones who should listen to the reason," Amy said, "are the older ones."

Ian looked at her. "Define, older ones."

_Crash! _

Dan (with a bruise on his left arm) raced inside the living room, followed by Ned and Ted. "Guys! You have got to see what Hamilton and Sinead destroyed back there!" he yelled, grinning hugely. "Nobody got hurt," Ned added, when he saw the concerned looks. "You just have to see this gigantic mess!" Ted had a grin pasted on his face, similar to Dan's. Natalie stomped inside the room, holding a chocolate-soaked bandage. Reagan and Madison were right behind her, shooting the threesome _'Ohoho... You are so gonna get it'_ looks. She chucked it at Dan. "I help, I get tired," she snapped, making weird hand gestures to prove her point. She pointed an accusing finger at Dan. "And Daniel messes it up. Messes every bloody thing up!"

"If you just moved out the way," Sinead reasoned hotly. She walked inside the room, disgruntled. Her hair, which was neatly tied in half before, looked like tangled seaweed. Band-aids are sticking out of her hair.

"You are lucky I moved your way!" Hamilton retorted. He had a slightly bleeding gash on his left cheek. "That shelf would've crushed you!"

"I calculated the momentum and speed of the fall. I could've used enough force to deflect it!"

Hamilton growled in frustration. "How about just moving out of the way? Or rolling away from the shelf?"

Natalie smacked Dan's head, which made him flinch. "Ow! What'd you do that for?" He wanted to smack Natalie back, but that would be so two-year-old. Even for him.

"If you weren't playing 'ninja', this wouldn't have happened!" She clenched her fists.

Dan aimed his incredulous look at Ned and Ted. "When you said you, you meant me, Ned and Ted, right? And by me, I mean, Dan. As in D-A-N! Caps lock all those letters." Natalie slammed her face into her palm.

Amy blew a wisp of her hair away. "You know, Ian," she said. "When you're a Cahill, you don't classify them as older and younger. Uncle Fiske made a mistake about that."

Ian nodded knowingly. "Tell me about it. You classify them as insane... and incurably insane."

xXxXXoXXxXx

**Huge grin for Dan's karaoke moment! *What song should he mind-karaoke next time? *wiggles eyebrows like a mad scientist***

**Angelle and Keightlyn are childhood friends with the Wizards? Whoa! What kind of idiot thought of that? *ten seconds pause* Oh wait. I did.**

**Yehey for Hamilton and Sinead fights! I love the pairing if you haven't noticed... so yeah. Sorry for those who does not appreciate them.**

**QUESTION of the DAY:**

**If the Cahills – all of them - went to the mall (yikes!), what do you think will happen? Oh and yeah, what would you say if Ian spoke French? *sighs***

**Until Then,**

**MuchLove, PeaceOut!**

**AngelicSpring.**


	6. Chapter 5

**This is a pretty long chapter. I think. Hehe. ANNOUNCEMENT: I have fixed the Dan-POV dilemma. Yay me!**

**Anyhoo, since you guys are okay with French Ian. I give you... Italian Ian! Kidding. Wow, that was such a lame joke. I give you French Ian. One day I was thinking... Ian lives in England, right? And England is near Paris, right? So it's possible that he knows French, right? And then there came my inner voice: Yes, AngelicSpring. Ian knows French. Yes he does. And, ping! **

**Thumbs up for inner voices that make sense!**

**This also is the chapter where Amy will explain how the Vespers stole the Cahill DNA. It's a funny story actually. You see, the Vepers –**

**Mr. Manager~sama: The DISCLAIMER!**

**ME: But, wuh-haiii? (wuh-haiii is why in a very whiny tone)**

**Mr. Manager~sama: Because I said so. Now, AngelicSpring DOES NOT own THE 39 CLUES!**

**ME: You mad?**

**Mr. Manager~sama: YES I AM! *then suddenly laughs* No I am *hihi* not. *suddenly mad again* YES I AM!**

**ME (looks at him thoughtfully): I'll take that as a disturbing yes. **

**Avec l'histoire! **(On with the story: French version) **Because I'm feeling Frenchy :)**

**The Frenchiness of this story is thanks to a site I found. It would be cool if I know how to, though. But I'm trying my best. *pumps fists in the air***

xXxXXoXXxXx

Chapter 5: The Mess, The Clean-up and The Reason

Gustavo is not happy.

And that's putting it mildly. The middle-aged man glared at Dan, already sensing that he is the mastermind. He didn't need to talk. His eyes said everything. _You are so dead, Dan Cahill. Explain now while you still have the chance. Choose your words carefully..._ Amazing, really, how all that could be said with a glare.

"I didn't do it," Dan said, raising his hands in surrender. "It's not our fault that shelf didn't support ninja weight!" And with that statement, he sort of busted himself. Good, old Dan and his honesty.

The kitchen is chaos. Utter, indescribable chaos. In one side were the battered shelf and its fallen contents. In every side, chocolate syrup, eggs, and bandages splattered the walls, ceiling and floor. Amy, Angelle and Keightlyn volunteered to help with the cleaning. The Saunders looked pointedly at the two Wizards, like _'Well, what are you waiting for, Christmas?'_ Jonah and Phoenix grabbed a clean, damp cloth from Gustavo, and started scrubbing like their lives depended on it. Sinead excused herself, and promised that she would help as well after she changes. She barked at Ned and Ted to help, making the twins scramble to their feet for anything to tidy up. Somehow the bathroom beside the kitchen remained undamaged, and she gratefully headed there with her change of clothes. Hamilton watched her with narrowed eyes, still annoyed with her 'I-calculated' argument. He muttered some excuse about wounds and changing. Leaving, he added something about ungrateful creatures. His sisters stared after him, shrugged and started cleaning up.

Natalie pinched Dan's ear with her left hand and held her Prada first aid kit on the other. She ordered him around, and had him pick up bandages that can still be saved, bottles of medicine and poisons, and her darts. Dan did not give up without an argument of course; he whined and glared and was really creative with muttered Japanese insults. He found a needle-like dart and pretended to aim it at her back. Natalie raised her eyebrows. He immediately went back to work. What can we say, girls can be scary. Ian started cleaning up, which he rarely does, just to help Amy maintain her sanity. _If_ _every single day is like this in their home_, he thought, _I wonder how she survives that brother of hers_. Amy saw him wiping a huge splat of hardened chocolate and shot him a grateful smile. Something in his chest thudded hyperactively, but he managed to give a small smile back.

Everybody is now cleaning up. Sinead had to smack Ned and Ted once... okay, maybe twice. But that's normal. The only music playing in the background is Natalie and Dan's bickering about how stupid it is to keep darts in glittery colors. The Holts wiped hardened syrup like dust off of a glass; in short, effortlessly. There were times that Reagan would throw Madison in the air, so that they could wipe eggs splatter off the ceiling. Angelle was teaching Jonah how to properly wipe the chocolate, so as not to make more mess out of it. Keightlyn, Phoenix, Amy and Ian were busy removing Band-Aids from the walls. All in all, it is peaceful.

Gustavo smiled behind the shadows of the garden. He slipped out and watched everything from outside where they can't see him. The training has officially started.

xXxXXoXXxXx

By dinnertime, all of them were ready to eat a living cow.

Gustavo examined the kitchen half-heartedly and said, "You're safe... for now." Cheery. After he made dinner, he left without another word, and with another glare.

Dan groaned. "My back hurts!"

"My fingers hurt," Natalie added, looking at her slender fingers.

"You just stood there yelling at me. How could you be hurt?" he gritted his teeth. Again, Dan resisted the urge to flick Natalie's head. Or smack her. Or pull her hair. Natalie ignored him.

Most of them are done with their dinner. Amy decided to take this chance to speak. She cleared her throat. All eyes snapped at her direction. Amy bit her lip, hoping that blood won't rush to cheeks.

"After dinner," she started, "Dan will bring you to the dorms. The two dorms are on the second floor. Just bring your stuff up there."

"Dorms? What dorms?" Hamilton asked.

"It's where you sleep and stay when you're away from home," Sinead replied. Ned and Ted nodded.

Hamilton gave her an exasperated look. "I know what dorm means, thank you very much, Ms. I-Calculate-Everything." Reagan and Madison stared at their older brother.

"Anyway," Amy interrupted, "we have the boys' dormitory and the girls' dormitory. All of these are arranged as part of the train."

"Too bad, huh, Nat," Dan stage-whispered. "No luxurious bedroom for the princess."

"Do not call me Nat, you gnat," Natalie hissed. Dan smirked. Then she looked at Amy, "Do you stay at your own rooms?"

Amy shook her head. "No. We will stay with you in the dorms. As I've said, it's all part of the train."

Ian toyed with his bendy straw. Straight, bend, straight, bend. "So, you gathered all of us here... because it's part of the train." He made the word 'train' sound ominous.

Amy nodded. "One representative of each branch will stay here. Except for Angelle, she needs to stay." She looked around. "Dan, take them to their rooms. And try not to destroy anything."

Dan saluted. "Aye, aye, captain!" Reagan, Madison, Ned, Ted, Phoenix, Keightlyn and Natalie followed him out.

"And no eavesdropping," Angelle called out. There was laughter outside, telling them, "Yeah, right!" They heard Dan saying that they need to go up in two straight lines. Then, they started singing the theme song of Pokemon.

Amy took a deep breath. "Okay, here goes nothing."

The atmosphere changed, and became deadly serious.

xXxXXoXXxXx

"How did your branch take the Madrigal issue?" Amy asked.

"First question, and it's already hard to answer," Hamilton chuckled. Sinead smiled at Amy nervously. Ian shrugged. Jonah made a straight line with his finger on his neck. Like knife sticking through a body. Angelle glanced at all of them, and bit her lip.

"I'll take that as a negative, then." Amy licked her lips uneasily. Of course, they wouldn't take the Madrigals-are-all-nice-people-let's-join-them bomb easily. It's like asking each of them to swallow an atomic bomb and dance.

"Telling them while they are training," Hamilton winced at the memory of flying javelins, basketballs, shot-puts and arrows. "Not good."

"We did try," Ian said. "Their replies though, are... Well... Very colourful language, inappropriate for a cheery occasion."

Sinead nodded. "Uncle Alistair is still trying. Although..."

"I think I just got kicked out of the branch," Jonah said nonchalantly. "But whenever I see a Janus, I try my best to tell them and let them spread the word. But..."

Amy did her best to smile reassuringly. "It's okay. As long as we're working... Everything will surely be alright."

There was silence. It's hard to say those words. When you're a Cahill, you won't know whether everything will be alright. Nothing is for sure.

"If our branches don't cooperate," Ian said, still holding the bendy straw. "What will happen then?"

Angelle spoke up instead of Amy. "We will do what we have been doing all these years. Fight alone."

"And this 'we' means...?" Jonah said, not liking Angelle's tone. Her statement sounded a lot like a last will and testament waiting to be signed.

Angelle straightened, and looked at his dark eyes. "Madrigals, of course."

"Hey, hey, hey," Hamilton protested. "You made it sound like it's only you guys who will fight this battle. We're in, too!"

"I know we're just kids compared to what we might be facing," Sinead added, "but you'll do well with a piece of every branch, right?"

Amy bit her lip. "But, you see..." she trailed off, not knowing how to put things any easier. She wanted to tell them that nobody wants to risk their lives, that they are free to do whatever they wanted, that they could live normally (or as normal as a Cahill life could allow), that they could stay with their branch, but still remember the goals of a Madrigal. After those have been said, she has to tell them, _"Oh don't worry. Dan and I will be perfectly fine. You know, practicing for bomb detonation, martial arts, and plainly trying not to get killed. The usual."_

"Aunt Nataliya would join us. I'm certain," Ian cut off. He kept on avoiding Amy's eyes. Somehow he knew what Amy needs to say. And it's not something he wanted. "She is good with strategies."

"Uncle Alistair would make any gadgets we might need. Of course, we would help, too," Sinead said quickly, remembering that her uncle might not be able to finish one gadget.

"The Holts are at your service. But, I think I'll have to ask the younger ones to take it easy," Hamilton has his little sister, Reagan, in mind.

Jonah is in deep thought. "And I can contribute my hundred million fans. Will that help?" His mind raced for every possibility.

Ian finally looked at Amy. "You see?" he smiled gently at her. "All of us want to do our part. No matter how big or small. If we could defeat those Vespers, why not?"

"And...?" Amy stared at Ian. She knows there is something else bothering him. No, all of them. More than just defeating the Vespers once and for all. He didn't reply. The others tried to hide their guiltiness, too.

Jonah raised his hands in surrender. "Okay, okay. You got us. We want to know what happened during the kidnapping. So, what gives?"

Angelle stood up and cleared the table first. She _sooo_ does not want to stay when Amy starts explaining. The two of them will just be faced with questions they can't answer. She proceeded towards the sink to wash the dishes. Amy watched her silently. She sighed. "I believe you have a theory on what happened. Especially, the Starlings," she looked at Sinead Starling.

"Theory of Stolen DNA," Sinead laughed the statement away. "That's my theory. I'm an Ekat and that's the best I could do. Come up with something impossible." She sounded regretful and if you are good enough to notice, on the verge of tears. Never in her whole life has she been unable to understand or explain anything. She is one of those people who would say, 'Science could explain that.' But to make a machine for DNA extraction...

Amy shook her head. "Why don't you ask the others what they think?"

"Starling, I don't think it's impossible," Hamilton replied sternly. He hated it when girls cry. It's like a freak of nature for him. He didn't know if his voice sounded comforting as he wanted it to be, but still.

"Hollywood made and is still making stealing-DNA themed movies. I guess it is possible." Jonah helped Angelle dry the plates.

"If that is the case," Ian started, "then Natalie..." His eyes widened.

"And Reagan..." Hamilton felt something go up his throat.

The wet plate from Jonah's hands fell. "And Phoenix..."

"And Uncle Alistair..." Sinead's tears filled her eyes, waiting to tip over.

Amy nodded sadly. "Might just lose their share of your branch's serum in their blood. And all of us, are in danger."

xXxXXoXXxXx

"Wait, wait, wait. So their Cahill DNA is stolen? How, exactly? And what's this about losing their part of serum? Will Reagan stop being a Tomas?" Hamilton had his fists clench the table cloth. If he didn't keep his hands busy, who knows what he might end up hitting? His voice though, sounded eerily calm. That is the scariest part: he is capable of destroying anything, and yet he is still calm.

Angelle and Jonah were talking in hushed voices. Jonah kept on clenching his fist, and Angelle seemed to be stopping him from hitting something. Sinead didn't even smile at the correctness of her own theory. She was too scared.

At this point, everybody realized that when Ian's really, really angry and really, really upset, he becomes very vocal. "How can you steal DNA? DNA that is embedded on you even before you were born?" Ian's jaw clenched in frustration. _"C'est une stupidité absolue! Voler l'ADN? Êtes-vous de votre esprit? Stupid, et débile! Impossible! Natalie ... Que se passerait-il pour elle? Je suis comme un échec. Je suis son frère ... Et maintenant ..."_ ("This is absolute stupidity! Steal DNA? Are you out of your mind? Stupid and silly! Impossible! Natalie ... What would happen to her? I'm a failure. I'm his brother ... And now ... ") He didn't even realize nobody could understand him, or his sudden change of language.

"_Calmez-vous, Ian. Permettez-moi de vous expliquer. S'il vous plait,"_ ("Calm down, Ian. Let me explain,") Amy replied, using every bit of French she knows. _"S'il vous plait,"_ ("Please,") she said again. She should've taken advanced French lessons from Nellie.

Ian turned to look at her._ "Amy, ma soeur est en danger. Vous l'avez dit vous-même. Comment puis-je être calme? Nous n'avons pas de parents plus. Personne ne prendra soin de nous maintenant,"_ ("Amy, my sister is in danger. You said so yourself. How can I be calm? We don't have parents anymore. Nobody will care for us now,") his voice broke, especially in the last part. He banged his fists on the table. Sinead flinched from the impact. Hamilton didn't even bat an eye. He was busy muttering things.

"_Nous prenons soin de Ian. Nous le faisons tous. Je ne. Et d'ailleurs, tout le monde est dans le même bateau. Alors s'il vous plaît. Parlons de ce calme et rationnelle,"_ ("We care Ian. We all do. I do. And besides, everybody is in the same boat. So please. Let's talk about this calmly and rationally,") Amy bit her lip, hoping that Ian would stop yelling. Not only would the others hear him, she is also running out of French words. _Nellie, Nellie, Nellie._ Ian stared back at her. He sat down.

"Does that mean you guys would stop being French-y or whatever it is you're using?" Hamilton demanded irritably.

"Yes," Amy answered simply. "Before you guys burst into another linguistically-themed fit, we conducted an experiment concerning these things." Angelle and Jonah resumed back to their seats. "Uncle Fiske and Nellie were kidnapped, too, but the thing is... Nothing changed. They remained what they are. The normal Uncle Fiske and normal Nellie." _Or as normal as Nellie could get, anyway,_ Amy decided. "Nellie told us that there are times that the Vespers would ask them to go to a room. And after every 'going', something changes from each one."

Hamilton nodded. "Like Reagan loses Tomas-worthy strength." "Phoenix..." Jonah said. "Uncle Alistair must have taken all the suffering for both Ned and Ted," Sinead sobbed miserably. "So that must be why Natalie became suddenly afraid of her poisons and dart guns," Ian mused.

"Afraid? Didn't seem like that when she pointed it at Dan earlier," Angelle commented.

Ian shot her an annoyed look. "That was fake, thank you very much. The poisons in there are fake, too. Merely colored water. Imagine putting deadly concoctions with medicines. You never know when they'll explode. The sleeping potion I was talking about is our term for sleeping pills made into vaporizers. Natalie also has trouble sleeping lately. You inhale them and you fall asleep. The tranquilizer gun is a child's play thing."

Angelle looked sheepish. "Oh."

Hamilton perked up. "How did you know that, Saunders? You weren't here yet."

"I have my ways."

"Uh-huh."

Amy cleared her throat. She seemed to be doing that a lot lately. "We are aware of the sudden changes with them. Our theory, based on the facts we have, is that the Vespers," she breathed the word, as if somebody would overhear and bring their enemy to them, "found a way to steal the serum which has become part of your DNA. Nellie and Uncle Fiske weren't affected because they don't have any serum in their blood. But -"

"How can you steal DNA from the blood, Amy?" Sinead protested, her PhD kicking up. "Technically, DNA is something un-steal-able for it is with you from conception with the protein in your body." She gritted her teeth in frustration. _Why? Sinead Starling asking questions instead of answering them? _

Amy twirled her hair anxiously. "Well... Stealing Cahill DNA might not be the reason why their Cahill-ness is slowly deteriorating. That's what I was just about to say. The Vespers must've found a way to stop its reproduction inside the body."

"E-Excuse m-me?" Ian spluttered.

Amy bit her lip before saying anything. "When Luke drank his part of the serum he acquired –"

"He became extra sneaky, extra calculating, extra good at strategy," Ian enumerated impatiently. "And so?"

"Patience," Amy instinctively snapped, thinking that she was just having an argument with Dan. "We conducted a study and found out that the serum particles multiply in the body everyday, like anti-bodies. So, hypothetically, if Ian got kidnapped, the serum particles would stop multiplying. That's what the Vespers did." She took another deep breath. "As to how they stole the DNA..." She shrugged helplessly. That part she was unsure of.

"Oh, my god," Jonah breathed.

"Would they be safe? Is my sister going to be safe?" Hamilton said softly, his head bowed down that nobody could see his face. Ian is too dumbstruck to speak. His mouth kept opening and closing, like he wanted to say something important but cannot form the words. Sinead's shoulders were shaking.

Amy continued. "That is why we have decided to call on you for the training. We aren't supposed to do so in another month or so, that means this situation must be very... serious. In order for these training to be successful, we will need your highest cooperation." She glanced at their shocked faces. "Cooperation in so many levels."

Sinead managed to stop her tears from falling. It wouldn't do good to cry over spilled milk. Or stolen DNA. They would have to act now. "Tell us what to do." The others nodded in approval.

"Be our teachers. If we could teach other the ways of one another, it wouldn't matter if some of us lose our share of the serum. If Reagan isn't as strong as before, at least she'll have the mind of Lucians and Ekats. Even the creativity of the Janus."

"Who ever thought that's okay? 'Reagan won't be as strong as before'?" Hamilton demanded, turning his head to look at Amy. His face is red.

Angelle decided to speak up. "Look, Holt. You got two choices here. To do as we suggest, or leave matters the way they are now. You could leave now, but you know what? That would be just plain stupidity. Why? Because instead of finding the better portion of our situation, you run away from reality!" She huffed an angry breath out. "So what's it gonna be?" She glanced at the others.

xXxXXoXXxXx

**Oh wow! What happened? Do you think the characters are... I dunno, out-of-character? I did my best to show their feelings without doing that. *sighs heavily* **

**If I may say so myself, the next few chapters will be more dramatic. Rating this chapter: MILD drama. Will there still be humor? Of course! I mean... I'm sure there will be... Like I'll try, right? *looks at you pleadingly***

**Haha. This chapter sounded nerdy. But give it patience, it actually makes sense. *smiles sheepishly* **

**Code time:**

Uhx Nby Duhom Vywigym Nby Yeun

**Another Clue: Offset = 20**

**I just saw the most amazing thing (for me, at least) here in FanFiction. Someone from I-forgot-what genre got 1000+ reviews for only 31 chapters! A-Ma-Zing! *sighs wistfully***

**Question of the Day:**

**If you were given a chance to be turned into an animal, what would it be and why? If you were to turn TWO Cahills into animals, who, what and why? Hihi.**

**My answer: If I was given a chance to be an animal, I would be a peacock. I mean seriously, don't you wonder how it would feel to open and close those colourful feathers? Oooh... pretty. *smiles goofily* I'd turn Dan into a cat, so that he'd hang out with Saladin, cat-version. I'd turn Natalie (whoa, cliché much?) into a dog, so that it'll be fun :)**

**Read and Review :)**

**Yours till the potatoes mash,**

**MuchLove, PeaceOut!**

**AngelicSpring.**


	7. Chapter 6: XXXXXXX

**WARNING: This is a very short chapter. It is also very disturbing because... Well, I'll leave the reading to you. *shudders***

**I updated early because school is starting in about... oh I don't know... TWO DAYS! Waah! *freaks out; destroys furniture* *breathes in and out* Anyways, I probably won't be able to update quicker like I used to. But I will try I promise!**

**DISCLAIMER:**

**I own The 39 Clues and I'm the Queen of England. NOT!**

**O-o-o-o-n-n-n wi-wi-wi-wi-th the-the-the st-sto-sto-ry-ry... Because I'm feeling freezy?**

xXxXXoXXxXx

Chapter 6: XXXXXXX

His eyes were closed in deep concentration.

_The most crucial part of the plan has arrived. One erroneous move and everything will fall apart. And here I am, with my hope on the competence of four people. They would finish it. They should. After all, they wouldn't be the four youngest members of CERN and NASA for nothing. They have the ingenuity of those darned Ekats. When they finish the project, they'll twice as smart. Smarter than anybody who has walked this useless planet. We'll just have to shape it again, of course; mould it to our liking, where we will be the rulers._

_But first... I have to make a foolproof Plan B, because if those good-for-nothing foursome failed... Ugh. I'll just personally take care of them. I am not known to trust after all. Trust corrupts people; it's the easiest way for destruction. Like love. Stupid, intangible, irrational things. _

The young man slumped on his swivelling chair.

_Foolproof strategy, huh? Easy. I am as good as those filthy Lucians. Heck, I am better. And soon, the world will know about me. Right, right, the plan. Phase One is done: kidnapping them. Phase Two... if the machine becomes utter failure, we'll just have to do with bloodshed. Easier, but messier. Complete wipe-out. _

His face stretched into an anticipative smile.

"Young Master...?"

He did not turn to face his butler. Why should he anyway? "What is it, Lin?"

"They are here, Young Master." There was a short pause. "They are bringing it with them."

The boy perked up in his chair. "I see. And?"

"The machine works, Young Master."

The smile is disturbing. It's the smile of a serial killer, embedded in the face of a young man. He chuckled, cold and menacing. "Perfect."

Time to make the Cahills' lives miserable. And end them permanently.

xXxXXoXXxXx

**Wild guess on who that was? On what the machine is for?**

**I just want to say that my story finally has an ending. I dreamt of it last night, actually. I'm still working on the finer points but the ending is definitely there. **

**Thank you for the reviews! You really make my day :) Song time: You are my sunshine, my only sunshine, you make me happy... when the skies are gray! (I don't own that song) Thanks to: ****DaisyEmerald1****, ****Serenity Kabra****, ALAZYLOGGER, ****li'miss sunshine****, ****The Girl of the Moon****, ****bookgirl39****, ****Evanescence456****, ****Ballet Reader**** and ****therockinCookie****!**

**Please continue on reviewing. I love them so much. They're like a scoop of vanilla ice cream for me. But wouldn't that make me fat? Who cares :) I'm happy.**

**It's nearly 12 in the morning! Whoo! Enjoy late nights before it ends! Late nights or days? Haha. Wow, I'm so weird today.**

**Question of the Day:**

**Have you ever been flamed? If yes, how did you deal with it? If no, how WOULD you deal with it?**

**Yours till the North Poles,**

**MuchLove, PeaceOut!**

**AngelicSpring.**


	8. Chapter 7

**Hey guys! I am so sorry! I uploaded just now which is seven days after the last one, I think. Or eight? I told you that school started recently. Everything went well I suppose but since I'm a newbie and everything. *sighs* In case you're wondering I haven't checked my FF account since that day I last replied to Eva and Ballet Reader, I think. So yeah. Oh look Masterchef Australia 2 is on! Ooohh... Fishy...**

***ahem* Anyways, I missed uploading. I really did. I don't know why but I did. It's like a little nagging craving. You know what I mean? Haha. Have you ever felt that?**

**DISCLAIMER:**

**I do not own The 39 Clues or anything recognizable that would make you think that I don't own it because genius people have already thought of it. *sighs* I do wish I can have a bite of what those Masterchef Australians are cooking. *sighs* I WANT SOME!**

**On with the story, mates! *copies Dan's amazing Australian accent* Because I feel like it. **

XXxXXoXXxXx

Chapter 7: The Dormitory, The DL and The Talk

"What do you mean teach? As in teach? Like teachers do?" Dan's eyes were bugging out.

Hamilton eyed him warily. "Unless you know of other profession that teaches."

The boys and girls are now in their respective dormitory. The boys' and girls' dormitory occupy the entire second floor. On the half left part of the floor, the boys' dormitory; on the half right part, the girls' dormitory. The only thing separating them is a narrow corridor, lightened up by pearl-shaped light bulbs.

The beds are arranged camp-like. For the boys, five beds are lined on one corner. The beds face a huge plasma screen TV, a Wii, and a mini fridge. For the girls, three beds are facing each other (a total of six beds) and on one side six huge mirrors with drawers and a plasma TV. Amy designed the girls dormitory and as Dan mentioned once, it is pretty Amy, meaning boring. Dan put up a Wii to challenge everybody else to a 'game to the death'. The stereotypical colors of girls and boys donned the ceiling and curtains. Pink and blue. Nobody even commented on the colors or the fabric used for the sheets.

The 'older ones' are now filling the 'younger ones' with the 'teaching' thing. All of them tried to look as nonchalantly as possible. It wouldn't do any good if they let the others see how horrible their situation is. Ian, Hamilton and Jonah walked (actually for Jonah, he swaggered) inside the room, pretending to be deep in conversation.

Dan started shaking Ned and Ted by the shoulders. "Did you hear that? He said we are going to teach! Teach!" The twins bumped their heads in the process.

"We heard him," Phoenix said, strumming on his guitar. He nodded and started writing notes in his music sheet. "Didn't Mr. Fiske tell you about this plan?" Phoenix poked his cousin on the shoulder. Jonah took the guitar from him, and tried the first few chords, changed one, and gave it back to Phoenix. Jonah had not said a single word after Ian spoke up.

Dan shook his head hysterically. "No, no he didn't. He... And _Nellie._ How could they do this to me? Why, Nellie? Why? Why? _Why?_" He raised his fists in the air dramatically, and started hitting the bed. "And I thought I was your favorite! Why, Nellie? _Why?_" He started fake sobbing.

Ian, Hamilton, Jonah, Phoenix, Ned and Ted looked at him weirdly. What is wrong with this kid?

"For one, they didn't tell you because of _that_," Ian pointed at Dan's hysterics. "Second, it's because you would not understand, and would start complaining. Just. Like. That." He sighed. "You're lucky to have Amy for a sister." He was thinking of how Amy led all of them a while ago with leadership he never thought she had.

Dan stopped and glared at him. _So it's all about his sister again, huh? This another-chance-at-redemption thing of British Cobra is puke-worthy._ "Okay, lover boy. What's the DL?" The others snickered. _Lover boy. _"Five dollars Ian won't deny being a lover boy," Ned stage-whispered. Ted rolled his eyes. "Bro, that's so obvious!" The two of them placed five dollars on the bed. Hamilton, Jonah and even poor Phoenix pitched in and handed their five dollars.

Ian shot them the killer look. "Anyways, all we need to do is..."

Ned and Ted exchange looks that plainly said, _'Uh-huh. Starlings, always right.'_

XXxXXoXXxXx

Natalie shrieked for three minutes flat. "Make lesson plans?" she said shrilly. "Lessons that will make us 'be each other'? Have you gone completely bonkers?" Natalie began jumping up and down on her bed whiningly. She is now dressed in her long satin nightgown, embroidered with cherry blossoms.

Amy sighed. "Please don't say that word in front of Dan."

Natalie stopped jumping. "What word?"

"Bonkers," Amy said plainly, as if that single word could explain everything. Everybody nodded, so they must have understood.

Sinead sat cross-legged on the edge of her bed. She washed her face thrice just to erase every evidence of her tears. "It's easy actually. All we have to do is make a lesson plan that will help the others become us." She paused, lips pursed. "That is a little confusing. Hypothetically speaking, we are Ekats. So, we will make a lesson that will help you guys learn the ways of our branch. All that we know. From constructing gadgets to storing knowledge in our brains."

Madison clutched her head and moaned. "Ugh. Miss Starling is being all wordy and brainy." Reagan did the same, saying, "Words overload. Words overload."

Keightlyn, who was sitting beside Natalie, began braiding her hair. "I think I understand what Sinead said." Her eyes shone brightly as she looked at Amy. "Does that mean we get to show them the rooms?"

"What rooms?" Natalie asked. Secretly, she liked how Keightlyn is braiding her hair. Her mom used to do that, too. Before everything... So long since someone did that. Ian can't braid her hair. He can't even tie her hair in a ponytail to save both their lives. That would be just so weird.

Amy smiled at their curiosity. "Well, we did not give you the tour of the house yet, have we?"

"There's a Tomas room?" Madison and Reagan hooted in approval. They high-fived happily.

"More like a Tomas field," Angelle said.

The twins grinned. "Okay, so what do we need to do?" they chorused eagerly.

"Tomorrow you will meet with your branch mates/brother or sister/cousin and decide what you will teach us. Simple." Angelle checked her nails on cue. She grimaced at them. So need a manicure, she thought.

"That way, we could be part-Tomas, part-Lucian, part-Janus, part-Ekat and part-Madrigal without the serum," Amy concluded.

"Hold a moment! There will be Madrigal classes?" Natalie asked. Madrigals already got a piece of everything. What is there to teach?

Keightlyn giggled. "Oh, I think you'll love our lessons," she said, winking at her.

There was a knock on the door.

"Come in," Amy called. Keightlyn tied a gold ribbon around Natalie's braid. Sinead pulled _Beastly_ out of her carry-on and started to read. Angelle started doing her nails. Madison and Reagan yawned hugely.

The door opened with unnecessary force. Dan came bursting in and jumped on Amy's bed. Ian stood on the doorway, a look of disbelief in his face. His fist is still raised in the air, a proof that he was the one who knocked. Hamilton scratched the back of his head uneasily.

"Why?" Dan demanded.

Amy backed away from her brother's glaring face. "Why, what?" Amy retorted.

"Why are you so set in ruining my life?" Dan clutched Amy's pillow. Amy looked at Ian and Hamilton, both guys still on the doorway.

"I did knock," Ian offered with a shrug. "May we come in?"

Natalie rushed towards her brother. "Ian, my..." she trailed off, not wanting the others to hear. Ian nodded and handed her a small bottle. "Take care of your things." His sister nodded gratefully. Dan lost interest in bothering her sister. He walked towards Natalie. "What's that?" he asked, pointing at the little bottle. "It's... none of your business, Daniel," she huffed, walking towards her bed.

"Dan, leave Natalie alone. It's late," Amy said in her best older-sister voice. If Natalie doesn't want them to know about the sleeping potion... "Oh and Ian, can I talk to you for a minute?" Ian looked startled for a minute. He nodded deliberately.

Hamilton whistled. "Well, before that..." he glanced shrewdly at Ian and Amy. "Reags, don't forget that thingy, okay? And go to sleep, we're still waking up early, got it?" The twins nodded and saluted. Reagan swallowed a small white pill, before going to bed. Hamilton nodded approvingly. He caught sight of the other girls, especially Sinead. He cleared his throat once. "Good night, you guys."

Sinead looked up from her book and nodded. "'Night." She turned a page. "Oh, and thanks, Holt. For that... a while ago." Her eyes minutely scanned the page and then the next. She never glanced up for even a flitting look at him.

Hamilton's eyes widened at the sudden sentiment. He scratched the back of his head awkwardly again. "Yeah, sure, Starling." With that, he left the room.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Dan held up a hand and glared at Amy. "Talk for a minute? Can I come?"

"No you can't, Daniel," Ian said, making a swooping motion with his hands. A universal sign for _go away and into your room. _

Dan crossed his arms over his chest. A universal sign for _you can't boss me around._ "Well, then. You can't have this 'talk'."

Natalie had already taken a sniff off her sleeping vaporizer. She's slowly losing consciousness. "Daniel is such a big baby," she said sleepily. She yawned and rested her head on her pillow.

"What was that, you little..." Dan glared. How dare she sleep while he's just heating up for an argument? Oh well, there's enough time for that tomorrow.

Amy threw her pillow at Dan. "Dan! Cut it out! Sleep now," she commanded.

The two of them stared at each other for a long moment. They were having their mind-talking thing again. Amy broke out of their silent conversation abruptly. "Dan! It's not like that!" she exclaimed, going red in the face.

Dan sulked. "Fine! But I'm still telling!" He stomped out of the room and slammed the boys' dormitory door.

Angelle sighed theatrically. "Children... Now, you two," she pointed at Amy and Ian, "give us some rest and have the 'talk' Amy's talking about." She placed all her nail polish on her own drawer. "Keight, go to sleep. Obviously, we can't eavesdrop in this 'conversation'." Keight nodded playfully, and pulled the covers up to her face. Angelle looked at Amy and Ian. "Well...?" She gestured outside.

Amy and Ian started outside. "Oh and Amy?" Angelle called. The red-haired girl turned to look at her. "Not longer than ten minutes, okay? I'm still older," she said, challenging her to question her unexpected authority.

Ian glanced at Amy. "Got it, Nellie the Second," Amy grinned at her.

XXxXXoXXxXx

"Look, Ian, about what you said earlier..." Amy found a sudden interest on the carpeted corridor.

Ian chuckled. "Straight to the point, aren't we?"

Amy watched him smile from under her lashes. She sighed patiently. "I have a curfew, you know?"

This made Ian smile bigger. "And I don't?" he challenged. Amy raised her eyebrows. "Jonah Wizard feels like he's the big brother of that dormitory. I have," he glanced quickly at his Frank Muller watch, "five minutes."

"Jonah gave you a curfew?" Amy said, bewildered. She laughed at the impossibility of the thought. She could imagine Jonah with his arms-crossed if any of his 'brothers' are late or in trouble.

Ian tugged at the collar of his shirt. "Well, yeah. Holt and Wizard, actually," he mumbled.

She pursed her lips at that. Hamilton and Jonah... big brothers? Yeah, _riiiight_. "Anyway, about what you said earlier... when you were talking in French..." She took interest at the floor again and shifted her foot.

Ian leaned against the wall and pressed his right foot behind him. "Oh, that. I'm sorry about that unnecessary outburst."

"I wouldn't call it unnecessary. Just... unexpected, I guess." Amy shrugged.

"Oh." That comment _is_ unexpected.

"The message is unexpected." Amy looked at him, judging his expression. As likely, Ian's poker face gave nothing away.

They were silent for two whole heartbeats. "Do you know why we came here? Aside from that urgent message you sent?" Ian said, breaking the uncomfortable silence. Amy tucked her hair behind her ear and shook her head. Ian took a deep breath before continuing. "Because of Natalie."

Amy gave him a small smile. "So that she could be annoyed to death by my brother?"

Ian tilted his head to the side thoughtfully. "That's part of it."

Amy studied his face for a few seconds to see if he was kidding. "Are you crazy?"

"Maybe. But seriously, I want her to feel what family is." He smiled at the thought.

"You... what?" Amy held up a finger. "No don't answer that. Aren't the two of you family? Isn't that enough?"

"I'm at home for forty-five minutes. Natalie turns out to be in dire trouble that may or may not cause her to lose her Lucian blood. Some big brother I turned out to be." He sounded so crestfallen, Amy wanted to pat his shoulder or something. Yeah, 'cause she's got enough nerve to do that.

"I get it. But you know the Vespers seemed to have taken a huge risk at that." She played with her hair, like she always did when she's nervous.

"How so?"

"Well... I haven't told the others yet, because it sounds so... stupid, but... It seems that they used a machine without making sure that it actually works."

Ian growled. "Not sure? Are they really that bloody stupid? They could harm people, for all they care!"

"They don't care," Amy said, and then she smiled. "And I can't believe _the_ Ian Kabra just said that."

Ian managed a rueful smile. "I know. I seem to be out-of-character a lot lately." He remembered his outbreak of emotion just a while ago.

"We also think that all they managed to do is get blood samples from them. And that's where everything will get tricky; they have to find a way how to separate the contents of blood." Amy furrowed her eyebrows, thinking hard about this theory that Uncle Fiske once shared to her.

"They have to get a lot of blood for that to be successful," Ian noted, also thoughtful. Then he remembered how battered Natalie and the others looked like. Bruises, broken bones, wounds... "Oh."

Amy nodded. "The Madrigals felt so useless. I think the other branches blame us, too."

"You did your best," Ian interjected. "The Vespers are just bloody gits who don't know anything about hard work. We could do better. If we mess up one time, then it gives us enough wisdom to do better the next. And that next time would be beating the daylights out of them."

Amy looked meaningfully at him. If Ian listened to what he said, he'd get it. Ian looked back at her, not getting it at all. Then he, too, smiled. "Oh, I get it. Thank you, Amy."

An unintelligible comment came from both dormitories. Ian and Amy sighed wearily. "I need to," they said at the same time. "Go," they finished together. There was another shout from the boys' dorm. "I'm coming already," Ian replied crossly.

"Good night, Amy," he reached for the doorknob hesitatingly.

Amy did the same, clutching the doorknob of the girls' dorm tightly. "Good night, Ian. And..." She turned one last time to smile at him. "Sometimes being an older brother... or sister is even better than being a superhero." She offered another smile, this time serene and understanding. "I ought to know." She opened the door and disappeared behind it. He heard the lock click close.

"I know you do," Ian had a wistful smile as he walked inside. The lights were out, and Ian had to adjust his eyes to see clearer. Jonah and Hamilton were seated on swivelling chairs, slumped and twirling pencils. They looked like police officers, waiting for a criminal to 'fess up.

"What?" Ian demanded, closing the door behind him.

Hamilton clucked his tongue in disapproval. "Bro, you are so slow, dense and thick. Thicker than Grandma Margaret's wool sweater. And let me tell you, ten sheep are still waiting for their wool to grow back," he told Ian.

Jonah nodded, actually seeing sense in Hamilton's sentence. "Dude, you so need girl-maneuvering lessons. That talk-a-talk-talk there was so whatevs."

"What?" Ian asked again, not getting where this was going.

"As this dormitory's camp leaders," Jonah and Hamilton declared, "we are responsible with our herd."

"Wha – You know what, I'm not even going to bother. I'm going to sleep." Ian trotted to his bed and laid down. He shut his eyes. "And for the record, I don't need girl-maneuvering lessons or whatever. And I'm not dense."

Jonah and Hamilton shrugged and raised their eyebrows knowingly. "Total opposite," they said together.

XXxXXoXXxXx

**Wow, Jonah and Hamilton. And Ian, too. What would I give for them to be my big brothers? Hmm... *shudders; thinking of all the Cahill chaos* Niiice. :D**

**ANNOUNCEMENT: It would probably take a lot of days before the next chapter comes. But don't worry, it will come this June. I'm not one to upload the month after, but if the story really doesn't have much of supporters... **

**I got pretty interesting reviews last time, especially about the flame thingy. Speaking of reviews, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR REVIEWING! Was that a yell? Nope, it was a SCREAM for JOY! Wow, that didn't make much sense. **

**Watching Detective Conan Episode 618. Two words. AWE and SOME. I know, I know, Waay to go describing stuff, Springy. But if I have to go for a third. AMAZING! Ah... Lovesick teens... **

**Question of the Day:**

**If anyone (anyone at all) in The 39 Clues cast could be your sibling (forever ;) ), who would it be and (wait for it...) WHY?**

**Nellie Gomez. Definitely Nellie Gomez. Why? Duh.**

**Till the earth quakes,**

**MuchLove, PeaceOut!**

**AngelicSpring.**


	9. Chapter 8

**There would be endless SORRYs from here on out. I am so sorry for not replying to PMs. I'm not really allowed to use the laptop on weekdays and Sundays. And I have two younger sisters... Enough said. The only day I could use it is on a Saturday. Today is a Saturday, so yeah. *sighs heavily* I'm especially sorry to Karnejerie, who understands my unreasonable reasons. School is awfully busy and I just can't get the stitch of our handbook. **

**Thank you for the reviews, guys. Eva who never gets tired pointing out my mistakes. And let me tell you, THEY ARE ALOT! Thank you, thank you. Bookgirl39 for being the first to review, ****li'miss sunshine**** (yes, DC is amazing. 'Nuff said :).), JonahsBiggestFan1998, Anonymous Person, ****therockinCookie**** and ****Karnejerie****. I absolutely love my reviewers! Haha. **

**DISCLAIMER:**

**./ If I owned The 39 Clues, Hamilton and Sinead would have more moments, Amy would switch personalities with Ian and Natalie and Dan would be childhood friends. Since The 39 Clues we have now isn't like that... Do the analyzing. :)**

**The story goes on, like a RIVER that FLOWS IN YOU. Because I'm feeling piano-ish, Yiruma-ish. I feel like it. **

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Chapter 8: The Breakfast, The Tour and The Family

Dan's face is on a huge plate of pancakes with maple syrup and butter. And he does not care. Naturally.

Amy groaned. "Dan, please get your face off your breakfast. It's disgusting." Dan didn't budge. "Dan." Still no budge. "Danny..." Still nothing. "Daniel..." Nada. "Danny-o?" Amy looked at the others for help. Hamilton raised a finger, mouthing _'I got this'_ and took a deep breath. "Dan, the ninjas have arrived!" he yelled before taking a huge bite out of his pancakes.

Dan sat up and jumped on his chair. "Where? Where? Where? Lord ninja ma –" He rubbed his eyes sleepily, and glanced around. He saw the faces of his dear, old relatives and stopped on Natalie's face. He screamed. "Aaaaaghhhh! Monster! Witch! Monster! Monster in the table!" He began running around in circles. When he reached Natalie's side of the table, the amber-eyed girl casually stuck her foot out, tripping Dan flat on the face. Ned and Ted laughed, nearly choking on their milk. (Yes, the Cahills are drinking milk.) Natalie yawned and sat properly.

Ian shot her a look. "Natalie!"

Natalie glanced at his brother lazily. "What? Can't I have my breakfast in peace? And eat this... this..." She blinked at the syrup-filled pancakes in front of her, and then at Amy. "Sorry, but... What do you call this again?"

"They're pancakes, Natalie," Amy replied. Surely the pancakes she, Angelle and Sinead made aren't that deformed. A little, yes, but not that much. Right?

Natalie nodded slowly. "Oh. What brand of batter have you used in this?" She sounded really curious, but seeing as how this is so unusual for her, each question just sounded horribly sarcastic. She forked an oblong-ish pancake off her plate. "It's all soggy... and browny... and squishy." As if to prove her point, the unfortunate pancake fell from the fork with a weird _plop._

Ian let out a slow breath through his nose. He smiled at Amy. "What she meant was, the breakfast is great."

Natalie turned her head to look at him. "Noooo... That's not what I –" Ian kicked her ankle from under the table. "I mean, that's exactly what I meant," she squeaked.

Sinead pointed her fork at Natalie. "Look, missy. Try waking up at six am and let's see if you can do proper pancakes, which are not soggy, browny and squishy!" She emphasized her points with a flick of her fork. She was still annoyed for waking up early because certain people – ahem, Hamilton, ahem – just had to march somewhere out there and yell at the top of his lungs. 'ONE, TWO! ONE, TWO!' early in the morning. All morning! Hamilton had his head bowed down and was scratching the back of his head. Natalie took a cautious bite out of her pancakes. She swallowed slowly and smiled. "It's safe," she declared happily.

Jonah entered the dining room, looking picture perfect. "Mornin' homies! What's hangi –" He tripped over Dan, also falling flat on his insured face. He stood up, brushing off dirt from his baggy clothes. "Hey, dude! C'mon! Can't I have peace in this place?" He spread his arms importantly.

Natalie shook her head sympathetically. "That's what I said," she shrugged helplessly.

Phoenix took a seat beside Dan's chair. "So, what is Dan doing on the floor?" he asked casually, taking a bite of his breakfast. Jonah sat beside him.

"Natalie tripped him," Ned and Ted said together. Phoenix nodded understandingly. For someone new to the Cahill craziness, Phoenix is catching up pretty quick. An unmistakable sign that he is a Cahill.

Reagan and Madison Holt burst inside the room, both their hairs tied in ponytails. "Ham!" they yelled as they skidded to a stop. They nearly ran over the limp figure of Dan, nearly broke his bones, and nearly sent him to the hospital. They stepped over him and stomped to their brother. Amy breathed a sigh of relief. Hamilton raised his eyebrows at his sisters. "What, kiddos?" he grinned at them.

"Don't 'kiddos' us," they chorused, their arms on their hips. They glared at their brother.

Hamilton gulped the last of his milk. "Oookaay... What happened?"

"What happened? What happened? Why didn't you wake us? It's nine in the morning! That's what happened!" they yelled.

From below, Dan groaned in pain. "I agree," he groaned again, standing up and stretching his sore muscles. "Nine in the morning is so stinking early. It's practically... like... morning." He sat down and ate his breakfast like nothing happened. Ian pursed his lips at this, thinking of how Dan's face was on those pancakes a while ago. He suddenly lost his appetite. Reagan and Madison finished their breakfasts within seconds, still angry with their brother.

Angelle entered the room, wearing an apron with flour streaked across her face and holding a spatula covered in thick batter. "What is this ruckus about? Can't we have peace in this household?"

Natalie glanced at the others meaningfully. "Again, that's what I said."

Jonah rolled his eyes at Angelle. "Whatever you say, Mom."

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that," Angelle said, walking up to him and grabbing his fork out of his hands. She scooped a huge portion of Jonah's breakfast and took a bite. "I am such a great cook!"

Jonah reached for his fork and Angelle kept it out of his reach. "Angie, hand it over. I'm starving." He continued reaching for it. Angelle continued on waving it high in the air. Jonah stood up, smirking. He's a head taller than her. The blonde girl returned the smirk and threw the fork high in the air. She caught it in the air before Jonah could. "Let's check how fast your reflexes are, Wizard," she challenged.

"Where's Keight?" Phoenix asked. To answer his question, the twelve-year-old blonde entered the room.

"I was preparing the itinerary," Keight said excitedly. She waved a piece of stiff paper in front of his face. Phoenix coughed at the weird smell of perfume.

"Itinerary," Ned said thoughtfully. "For what?" Ted asked. Out of nothing, they slapped each other on the head and then laughed.

"Mild curiosity here," Dan raised his hands, "why are we drinking milk and not – oh, I don't know – soda?"

"You drink soda for breakfast?" Natalie busied herself by tying her hair in a left-sided ponytail.

"Duh." Dan made a face at his half-empty milk.

"Dude, I'm seventeen and they commanded me to drink it," Hamilton shrugged.

"Commanded? You got commanded?" Dan looked at the others especially the members of the boys' dormitory. Ian was calmly sipping his own glass of milk. Natalie sniffed the glass first like what she did with the pancakes and took a cautious sip. Jonah gave up on his fork and drank the glass of milk in one big gulp. So, did Phoenix. Ned and Ted Starling, though sixteen years of age, found the moment as an exact time to propose a toast with their glasses.

Amy crossed her arms over her chest. "Well? What you gonna do?"

Dan gasped accusingly. "It was you! You made them drink milk, didn't you?" He leaned towards his sister. "What did you do? Blackmail them? Torture? Blackmail?"

"You said blackmail twice," noted Sinead. She stood up and placed her plates in the sink. Angelle shot her a grateful look and helped her wash the dishes. Ian raised both eyebrows at this, expecting a butler to clear the table for them. Seeing as this expectation of his isn't likely, he sighed, and did the same grudgingly. All of them except Dan helped in the first 'household chore'. Natalie eyed the proceedings keenly. She did make a single disgusted twitch of her nose, but watching Sinead and Angelle wash the plates amused her.

Dan waved his arms in the air, trying to get anybody's attention. "Uh... guys. I'm still alive here!"

"Sadly," muttered Natalie.

Dan glared at Natalie who hooked arms with Keightlyn and was busy jabbering about the latest fashion dos and don'ts. "What was that?" Since it's already a new day, why not start it by annoying people, right? Naturally, he was ignored. He growled.

"Dan, bring your plate here," Amy commanded, drying up the plates Angelle and Sinead have washed.

"And if I don't want to?"

Ian chuckled under his breath as he passed by Dan. "That wouldn't be very wise, Daniel."

"You know that how, Cobra?" Dan challenged. Ian merely winked at him.

Hamilton chose that moment to interrupt and slung an arm over Ian's shoulder, making the latter let out an involuntary cough. "Dude! About the GM lesson we're talking about last night... I heard there's an all-girls camp nearby. How 'bout it?" Hamilton grinned down at his cousin. Jonah slung an arm on Ian's other shoulder, making him cough again. "Yeah. We should totally dig there!" Jonah grinned naughtily.

Sinead glared at the plate she was washing. Angelle clutched hers tightly, nearly breaking it. Amy blushed, blood rushing up to her ears. The three girls were emanating intense hate waves that Ned, Ted, Reagan, Madison and Phoenix (who were all within five steps away from them) backed up in fear. They ran outside, following Keight and Natalie.

Dan yawned sleepily, seeing no interest in the situation. "Fine, I'm putting my plate in the sink," he walked slowly, taking one step every ten seconds. "Almost there... Halfway there..." He made slow running motions with his hands, too. At one point, he even wiped imaginary sweat from his forehead. Sinead and Angelle had enough of it and wiped their hands on a white cloth near the sink. "Dan, wash your own stinking plate," Angelle hissed, as she briskly walked past him. Sinead followed suit, not glancing at Hamilton, Jonah and Ian. In fact, she released powerful hate waves when she walked by. The three boys didn't notice though. They were too busy talking about their girl-maneuvering lessons.

Amy stared at their retreating figure. _Thanks for the back-up_, she thought miserably as she wiped the second-to-last plate. She glanced beside her to see her dweeb brother making pleading faces. "You won't let a ninja lord wash plates, right?" he said, widening her jade-green eyes. He handed her his plate and glass.

Amy smiled sweetly. "Dan... Wash your own stinking plate," she said just as sweet.

Dan stuck his tongue out at his sister. "Meanie." He started washing his own plates, nonetheless.

Amy just smirked back. Then, she bit her lip thoughtfully. _What did Hamilton mean about GM lessons? Why do they need to go to an all-girls camp for it? Boys are so amazingly weird sometimes. Dan is a living monument of this._ She let out a slow breath, half-sigh, half-huff. Dan handed her his plate and glass. "I'm outta here!" he declared happily. He shook his hands in the air, making droplets of water fling everywhere. He ran outside to follow the others.

"Need some help?" British accent. Suave voice. Hidden amusement behind the polite tone.

Amy avoided looking at him. "No thanks. I'm nearly done anyway." She paused, still thinking of what the three boys were talking earlier. "Shouldn't you be with Ham and Jonah for that... that GM lesson or something?" She tried to keep her temper in check. She knows she has no right to feel annoyed, but somehow she feels like she has to.

Ian leaned back on the counter near the sink, his hands in his pockets. "Hmm... no. I told them I didn't need them." He chuckled conspiringly, like Amy asking such question is a joke. Which probably is.

The brown reddish-haired girl didn't get it. "Oh."

"Hm-hmm."

She handed him the last two plates and a glass, all without looking at him. "Could you put those over there?"

Ian smiled despite of himself. "Of course."

Girl-maneuvering lessons, indeed.

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"That old Gustavo commanded all of us to drink milk? Through a note? A simple Post-it? Post-it pasted on the stupid fridge?" Dan threw his hands in the air. "What is he thinking?"  
>"When he comes, I'd tell him that you called him old," Angelle assured Dan.<p>

Dan raised an eyebrow. "And he isn't?"

Natalie clucked her tongue. "He'll make you clean up the kitchen again. I hope this time, though, he'll make you clean up the bathrooms, too." She smirked at him.

"Why don't you disappear for five minutes, Natalie?" Dan suggested pleasantly.

Amy flicked his shoulder. "Why can't the two of you get along for just a minute?" she groaned.

"'Cause she's Natalie and I'm Dan. Duh," he replied, like the fact was plain obvious.

All of them are now walking along the silent corridors of Cahill manor. They were touring the first floor. Keightlyn is up on the front. "Oh and yeah. We won't be visiting the third floor because that's where Amy's, Dan's, Uncle Fiske's and Nellie's rooms are." They continued walking. "And this is the library which is right beside the game room," she was saying. She's enjoying her job as a tour guide, especially when she has Phoenix towed.

"And where Amy's boringness is mostly seen," Dan muttered under his breath. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and yawned. They trudged inside the library. Towering shelves of books greeted them. There were also reading couches spread along the place, so you could sit anywhere after you get a book of your choice. Books of all sizes, colors and covers filled the shelves, some were stacked in piles beside the shelves.

"Classy," Sinead commented. She smiled at Amy. Sinead fingered some of the titles on the shelf. _Pride and Prejudice, Little Women, The Secret Garden,... _Some of them were even first editions signed by the authors. She took the autographed first-edition of _The Little Prince_.

"Spongebob Squarepants?" Natalie said, holding a thin comic book with her index finger and thumb. "It's Daniel's, isn't it?"

Dan snatched it away from her. "Don't touch that! This is where Spongebob and Patrick fought! It was a dramatic scene. Sheesh."

"When he was young, that's all he watches. Mom would read those to him, too," Amy explained. The others, except for Angelle and Keightlyn, shifted uncomfortably.

Keightlyn tapped her foot impatiently. "Moving on," she announced, trying to get their attentions. "We will now proceed outside where we will see the different training rooms."

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They were staring at a blank wall. A blank, dull, lifeless, brick wall.

"Open sesame," Natalie whispered. Nothing happened.

"Stupid," Dan snapped. "It's Avada Kevadra!" Nothing happened.

"It's like you don't live here," Keight commented at Dan. She placed a hand at a seemingly random brick and pushed at it. The whole wall shuddered and rose up.

Dan shuffled his feet sheepishly. "I have always said Avada Kevadra and it worked before."

"That's because I do the opening of the door," Amy interjected quietly.

They all went inside and were greeted by three doors. In the middle was the Lucian door, for it has the Lucian crest painted on it. On its right is the Ekaterina door, and on the left is the Janus door.

"Before you react on the positioning of the doors," Angelle said abruptly, sensing Jonah's would-be complaints. "The rooms are arranged accordingly. We placed the Janus room on the far left because the lighting is better there. The nature is caught perfectly for painting or sculpting purposes. And besides, we got tired moving the instruments, so we decided it's better for you guys to stay there." She eyed Jonah, daring him to argue. Jonah just nodded approvingly. "Musical instruments, huh," Phoenix murmured.

Keight grinned. "Uh-huh. The Ekat room is on the far right because it's safer there."

"What do you mean safer?" Sinead asked, gazing at the Ekat door.

Keight pursed her lips. "You make experiments, right?" The Starlings nodded. "And how often do they make explosions?"

Ned and Ted thought about that. "Always, actually."

"My point, exactly!"

"Whoa, wait! Hold up! We're going to make things explode?" Dan high-fived Ned and Ted. "Awe. Some!"

Ian tried to open the doorknob of the Lucian door. "And why is our door in the middle?"

"Because we know that your lessons will be less... chaotic," Amy replied, walking beside him. She pointed at one of the snakes head in the crest. "It's a retina scan. You put your eye there. Only a member of the branch could open the door." Ian tried it and placed his eye just above the snake. The door opened.

"Who said our lessons will be less chaotic, Amy?" Ian asked teasingly.

Amy sighed. "A person can hope, right?"

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"This is the Tomas field." Keightlyn gestured at the huge space of oval land in front of them. The oval is surrounded by a mini forest with tall canopy of trees. _Perfect for paintball shooting_, Hamilton noticed, smiling. There was a huge swimming pool for swimming laps, a basketball and volleyball court. There were also shelves for javelins, shot-puts and discuss throws. At the far corner, there was a shooting range for archery and sharp gun shooting. They would be having their Tomas classes out in the open while under the smoldering sun. Ian spotted a white house-like structure that he knew too well. Stables. He made his way towards the stables quite hurriedly. Amy watched him go. She had never been friends with those horses. Their meetings always end up with her hair in their mouths. She sighed miserably.

"Wow!" Reagan and Madison ran around. "Awesome!"

Sinead swallowed audibly. "Uh... we won't use and learn all of those, will we?" Okay, so maybe she has seen Ned and Ted play lacrosse before... But that doesn't mean she played any sport before, right?

"Of course we will, Starling," Hamilton replied, glancing at her. "Why?"

"N-Nothing," she squeaked.

Suddenly an arrow swished past her and Hamilton. Sinead tumbled down, trying to avoid its deadly tip. The Tomas boy recovered first. "Hey, you okay?" Hamilton placed a hand on her shoulder to help her up. Sinead flinched slightly at the contact. Hamilton immediately removed his hand and held it out to her instead. She took it gratefully and removed hers as she regained balance. She pretended to dust off her clothes.

"Okay, who the heck shot that arrow?" Ned and Ted yelled, eyeing any guilty face... or faces. _How dare -_

"Oopsie, my bad!" a high-pitched voice called out somewhere deep in the forest. "So that's where the arrow goes after it leaves the bow. How interesting." From the left portion of the forest emerged an Asian girl, her curled, black hair streaked with gold and she was holding an empty bow. She was followed by three other girls who were right behind her, like they were her minions. Four guys were right behind them. One in particular is a nerd with thick-framed glasses, his dark hair falling over his face and has the horrible case of freckles known to man. He fell over his own feet and stumbled down, coughing up dirt and grass. He was dressed in clashing colors; baggy violet t-shirt and orange skinny jeans.

Natalie gagged involuntarily at the sight. "Are you going to barf Natalie?" Dan asked. "'Cause I really should've brought my camera!" Natalie could only goggle at the sixteen-year-old-ish disaster in front of her. "Who. Murdered. His. Clothes?" she gasped, suddenly out of breath.

"Greeting, Cahills!" the Asian girl beamed at them. She smiled at them like they were some kind of paparazzi. "Fancy meeting you here!" On cue, the four girls flipped their hair and waved flirtingly.

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**Weird and stupid chapter. I know. *sighs* There are more OCs but they are not that important. You'll find out why. I hope next chapter when you read about them, you'll want to strangle them to death. But... you'll find them a little pitiful. **

**THAT officially didn't make any sense, did it?**

**Anyways, read and review? I think there are lots of mistakes here. Help?**

**Question of the Day:**

**What do you say about Ian and Hamilton fights? If you get to decide, what would they fight about? (Please don't say over Amy. Amy is like Hamilton's sister. Anything but Amy. But if you really think they should... (shrugs))**

**R&R even if you hate it :D Tell me about it. **

**Till the ball pens,**

**MuchLove, PeaceOut!**

**AngelicSpring. **


	10. Chapter 9

**It's a glorious and a rainy Saturday. It's all Typhoon Falcon's fault. It's cold, but probably not as cold as your countries' weather today. Yes, yes you. You in the green shirt and you in the gray hoodie. Yes you. I'm talking to you. Gotcha!**

**Anyways, I'm wearing a pink hoodie right now. Yeah! I like it a lot. It's my favorite and living in a tropical country, I rarely get the chance to wear it. I feel so Korean-ish. Haha. **

***sighs* Yeah, the comma problem. I type without my glasses on sometimes. I'm sorry and I do have a flair for putting and removing commas unnecessarily, don't I? I'm sorry *bows low* **

**DISCLAIMER:**

**ME: (typing) And I am so thankful for all your reviews. Mwahaha.**

**Mr. Manager~sama: What a weirdo. **

**ME: (typing) DISCLAIMER: Uh... Uh... (looks at manager) What should I write?**

**Mr. Manager~sama: snore, snore, zzz, snore, snore.**

**ME: (typing) Thanks a lot, Manager. You're such a big help. And I still don't own The 39 Clues, but The Medusa's Plot is on its way. As well as The Son of Neptune. That's a FACT!**

**Read on, my fellow citizens! Read on, I say! (Because I'm feeling speech-y)**

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Chapter 9: The Challenge, The Fight and The Threat

Amy had to roll her eyes at the statement. _Fancy meeting you here? Have they forgotten that they are in _their_ field? _"Look, Meilin –"

The Asian girl – Meilin - put a manicured hand over her lips in mock surprise. "Oh dear! Wouldn't you look at that? Amy, the Stutter-Brain, Cahill is talking!" She glanced at the other three girls. "What a surprise, isn't it, girls?" The other threesome – one brunette, one red-head, one blonde – nodded enthusiastically and giggled. Then their smug faces stretched into a huge acerbic smirk.

Dan had enough of this. _Those guys just had to mess up their day every time, huh?_ "Listen, dumpling!" Dan bravely charged at their group. Like lightning, the boys behind the antagonists made a barrier-like fort in front of the girls. Even the fashion-less guy stepped in front protectively. A blonde one, who is nearly as tall as Hamilton and probably the same age, roughly pushed Dan. The thirteen-year-old stumbled unceremoniously on the dirt.

"Dan!" Amy yelled, running to her brother's aid. Ian was suddenly near her. He held an arm over Amy's waist to stop her. His other hand was busy dusting off hay and grass from his navy blue Armani button-down shirt. He had his calm face on, but was radiating seriousness. Hamilton grinned like everything was going to be interesting from here on out. Ned and Ted looked plain disgusted and angry. They nearly killed their sister. They looked at each other thinking, _You ready to kick some low-life butts? _Jonah immediately wore his sunglasses to avoid identification, and plasted a huge smile. Phoenix squirmed out of Keight's grip, and rushed to help Dan. "You okay, bro?" he asked, holding out a hand. "Yeah. Thanks, dude," Dan said, accepting the help and glaring at the scene in front of him.

"What'cha gonna do, wimps?" the blonde guy demanded, looking at the two of them with disdain. He raised his palm again, getting ready to push Phoenix and Dan. A hand gripped his wrist. "That's enough, don't you think?" Hamilton declared, smiling dangerously. Ian made his way at them slowly and lazily. Ned and Ted had their sleeves drawn up to their shoulders like gangsters. Imagine professor-looking teenagers looking like they could kill hundreds. Yeah, unimaginable picture. But the twins have spent years in bullying younger students. Jonah slung his arms on Dan's and Phoenix' shoulders, looking mildly interested. He slyly scanned for possible weak spots from the enemy.

They were feet away from the Cahill girls, so the ladies had a hard time hearing what they were talking about. "What do you think are they going to do?" Angelle whispered excitedly.

Sinead shot her a look. "Don't you think it's an off-time to be excited about all of this?" she hissed back.

"I-I a-agree with S-Sinead," Amy breathed, tugging at her shirt. "Wh-What do we do?"

Natalie yawned. "Don't worry about them. They are boys, after all. They love fighting. Ian would have them crawling at their feet in no time." She beamed at all of them positively. "Without raising a finger."

"Hammer will have them crawling," Reagan announced proudly. Madison bumped Reagan's shoulder enthusiastically. "Uh-huh. At their feet or without their feet."

Keightlyn assessed the situation quietly. "Remember, Phoenix is wounded," was all she said.

They were so caught up in their conversation that it was a shock when the boys and the newcomers advanced towards them. Hamilton looked irked at the red-haired girl clinging on his arm. He began subtly shaking her off when he spotted Sinead's raised eyebrows. Ian had his arms crossed, probably to avoid having the same fate as Hamilton. Meilin has her eyes locked on him and kept on trying to lock arms with Ian. The brunette and blonde girl did not approach any of the Cahills but instead linked arms with some of the boys in their group. Jonah busied his self pretending to be an over-caring brother to Phoenix and Dan.

"What do you want now, Vermoes?" Angelle snarled.

"Vermoes?" Natalie scoffed, crinkling her nose and pursing her lips.

Keightlyn poked her arm warningly. "That's their surname. At least, Meilin and Stephanie and the blonde guy and his brother."

"Is Stephanie the one with Holt?" Sinead gestured at the red-head with a tilt of her head.

"Yep. The blonde guy is Andrew and his brother, Peter, is the one with the brunette, Angela." Keightlyn glanced quickly at Amy. "Actually that Andrew guy has a 'thing' for Amy."

Amy heard what Keightlyn said. "No, he does not. He's a jerk," she blanched.

Natalie placed a slender finger on her cheek thoughtfully. "That's what you said about my brother, too."

"Y-You're not he-helping, N-Natalie," she scowled at the smirking girl.

Natalie just shrugged. "And who's the person who has color-blindness?"

Angelle looked perturbed. "I-I don't... know."

Reagan and Madison tapped the red-haired girl on the shoulder. "Hey, sister! That's our brother!"

"The name's Stephanie," the red-haired purred, pinching the twins on the cheek fondly. "And this guy here is your brother, not your son." Stephanie began shaking their cheeks, cooing.

Sinead fumed quietly at the nerve of that girl. The twin Holts had other ideas besides keeping quiet. They grabbed Stephanie's right arm and performed a perfect Judo move on her. Stephanie groaned, rubbing her rear. "What the heck is wrong with the two of you?" she spat, tugging feebly at Reagan and Madison's jogging pants. Her nice-innocent-girl pretense ended. Hamilton cocked an eyebrow at this and moved his sisters where Amy and Natalie are.

"The two of them -" Ned grumbled, opening and closing his fists. "- Are thirteen-year-olds, stupid," added Ted, the murderous look on his twin's face photocopied in his.

Andrew Vermoe shot them a menacing glint. "We can see that, weirdos. What is your problem?"

"You nearly," spat Ned, through clenched jaw. "Killed our sister, morons!" finished Ted.

Meilin looked Sinead over. She grimaced at Sinead's outfit. "You mean, this poor excuse for a girl is your sister?" she scathed, her lips curling. "How charming!"

"Enough." That one word sent chills through all of them. Ian seemed undaunted at their reactions. He remained where he was, still avoiding the flirting pheromones Meilin is giving out. "It would be _disrespectful_ of you if you don't introduce yourselves before insulting us, now wouldn't it?" His voice sounded so official, so Lucian. The Vermoes just had to flinch at his words.

"Oooh... Accent. Hot," Meilin said, inching closer towards Ian. The British boy appeared ignorant. If anything, he moved away from her more.

Andrew's brother, Peter, nudged the nerdy boy. "Hey, Damien." The nerd boy staggered down. "Why don't you tell them why we're here?"

Damien pushed his glasses closer to his eyes. "O-Okay..." He bowed his head low, and started mumbling unintelligibly.

"Louder, you dolt!" Andrew bellowed.

Damien flinched. "We came to challenge you to a human chess," he blurted out.

"Excuse me?" Natalie cackled. "Challenge us? Do you know just who we are, you useless peasants?"

Dan marvelled at Natalie's sudden bravery. "Wow, Nat's on the roll."

"You haven't seen anything yet," Ian sighed. Then he straightened up. "Human chess? Why the sudden invitation?"

Andrew smirked at him. "Because, Mr. Bean, we're going to battle for a prize." He gazed at Amy's direction. "A very hesitant prize."

Ian followed his gaze and saw Amy slightly shaking. "Amy Cahill?" he whispered. "You think Amy Cahill is a prize?"

Andrew nodded contentedly and pointed at Angelle. "And that blonde one." He eyed Sinead undecidedly. "Add that auburn-haired, too."

"Yo, yo, yo! What do you think of our ladies here? Some kind of high-breed chicken?" Jonah said, removing his arms from Dan and Phoenix. "Who in the name of rapping do you think ya are?"

Stephanie advanced near him. "Why does your voice sound so familiar?"

"Uh..." Phoenix had to think fast before his cousin could get into trouble. "He's done some cartoon voicing."

Stephanie shot him a threatening look. "I didn't ask you."

Phoenix nodded. "I know. But I answered, so what you gonna do?"

Keightlyn sauntered in their direction. "That, Jackie, is what burn means."

"Freaky little blonde."

Meilin tapped Andrew on the shoulder, scolding. "Andrew, the new ones do not know our... endeavours. Only those four," she glanced dismissively at Amy, Dan, Angelle and Keightlyn, "know why we're here in the first place."

Peter snapped his fingers twice. "Damien. Explain."

"Explain what, P-Peter?" he stuttered.

Meilin slapped his head hard. "The situation, doofus!"

"O-Of c-course. Uh... We..." Damien cleared his throat twice and started on a practiced speech. "We challenge these pathetic Cahills every moment we get. People from around here think that these Cahills are somehow better than us. We, the fearless Vermoes, have decided to put an end to those rumors. The prizes will be chosen by the winners. Anything will suffice. For us the prize will be the stay of Amy and Angelle in our manor for a week. And now..." He glimpsed at Sinead. "I'm sorry, what's your name again?" Sinead looked at him in disbelief.

"Never mind that," Dan retorted. "We never accept your challenges anyway. They're not worthy of a ninja lord's time."

"Says the little boy who got pushed down," Andrew mocked.

"I don't believe we're up to such ridiculous challenge," Ian said, his tone very near to a growl. "It's a pathetic taunt that can only be thought of by lowly people such as... you."

Peter smiled appreciatively, as if he was actually expecting him to say something like this. "Of course, whatever you say." His black eyes glinted. "Maybe you really are just hopeless cowards." Peter seemed to be directing the statement especially at Hamilton.

That word rang again and again in Hamilton's head. _Cowards... Cowards... Cowards... Hopeless cowards..._ He remembered all those times his family were treated like dirt. His dad getting thrown out of Tomas meetings. People from their own branch thinking that the Holts are stupid. Emotions flared inside him. "You might want to pray before challenging all of us."

"Hmm... Interesting. Does that mean you accept our challenge?" said the blonde Vermoe. The four other acquaintances of the Vermoes have been so quiet, they nearly forgot they were there.

Ian saw through their act. _They are trying to anger Holt, somehow triggering his competitiveness. If that's the case –_ "Wait, Holt –" he warned. He was too late.

"Cahills never back down from a challenge. Bring it, Vermoes."

Meilin clapped her hands cheerfully. "Perfect! We'll send you the rules via Facebook, 'kay? Toodles." And with that, they were gone, walking away from them like nothing happened. Ian watched in horror at the sudden turn of events.

_Bloody hell. _

XXxXXoXXxXx

"What in the name of blasted pigeons were you thinking, Holt?" Ian exploded the moment they stepped into the threshold of their own manor. "You fell for their teasing! Their lowly taunting!"

Hamilton Holt loomed over Ian. Ian might be a five-foot-eleven-inches sixteen-year-old, but Hamilton is a six-foot-six-inches seventeen-year-old who hates being yelled at. "What is your problem, Kabra? I saved our pride and dignity back there, if you haven't noticed!"

"Pride and dignity?" Ian shot back. He chuckled harshly, his voice full of steel. "Pray tell me, what part there was the saving part, Tomas!"

Hamilton advanced inches more towards the British boy. Ian didn't move an inch. "Every. Darn. Part! Every darn part, you filthy Lucian!" he spat.

"Ian, please," Amy pleaded as Sinead said, "Holt, calm down." The others were simply trying to get out of their way.

Ian appeared as if he heard Amy's silent protests. He tried to calm down. "Look, Holt –"

"No, you look, Kabra," Hamilton interrupted. "Those fools were trampling on us! Didn't you see that? They had our pride under their feet. Especially those of Amy, Sinead and Angelle. And they were enjoying every minute of it! Didn't you see that?" His hands started shaking from the strain of his voice.

Ian massaged his temples briskly. "That was a ploy! A ploy, Holt! They were trying to –"

Hamilton crossed his arms over his chest. "And how do you know that? Everything you're spouting, how do you know you're right, huh?" he said, challenging Ian.

"Because..." Ian trailed off. How was he supposed to explain? "Can't you trust me on this, Holt? I just know, okay? I have proof but –"

Hamilton laughed. "But, what? It's not enough evidence?" When Ian did not answer, he continued. "See? You become angry for no apparent reason. And I thought Lucians were supposed to be the cunningly smart ones," he scoffed. "Hammy," Reagan and Madison warned, tugging at both his arms.

Ian glared at this. _That is just crossing the pesky line! Nobody makes fun of a Lucian. _"That's precisely why I can't tell you my reason! You are too hot-headed! You let your emotions control you. Didn't you see how those Vermoes used that?" he insisted.

"Ian, brother," Jonah said, tentatively, "don't they have to know Hamilton's attitude to play that game?"

Ian nodded curtly. "Exactly. And how would they know that?" He waited for the others to get his point.

Amy gasped, being the first one to get what he means. "One of them... No... All of them are Vespers. Is that what you're trying to say?"

Angelle held up both her hands. "Whoa, hold up. The Vermoes... Vespers? Amy, come on! They're evil, but not that evil."

Dan became serious Dan. Serious Dan mostly appears nowadays, especially after the hunt. "We can't know that, Angelle. Especially that new nerd guy. Damien, was it? Da-mi-en." He glanced at the others.

"Why? Is something wrong with the name Damien?" Natalie asked.

Keightlyn chewed on her lower lip. "That's the first name of Gideon Cahill's archenemy. Damien Vesper."

"Th-This is stupid," Hamilton spluttered. "If you are a Vesper, why would you name yourself Damien? It's too conspicuous."

Sinead nodded deliberately. "That makes sense. Strategically speaking, that wouldn't be very wise. Let's just say that the real Damien a while ago is wearing a disguise. For him to look less... suspicious." All of them nodded, catching up with her logic. "He'd go through all the trouble of dressing up like that and ruin it with his name? It's like you're an evil witch dressed as a super model and you named yourself, Evil Witch."

"It was a warning," Natalie spoke up. "A subtle message telling us, _We know where you are_."

Everybody, except for Ian, shuddered at her voice. "Precisely. And now we've fallen to their trap. Thanks to you!" he pointed accusingly at Hamilton.

"You said so yourself. That is not a very strong proof," Hamilton defended.

"Hah." Ian chuckled triumphantly. "Now you know how wrong you are. Next time, Holt, you might want to think. With what you have done, you endangered all of us. Even your sisters. Do you even care for their safety? What kind of brother are you?" He arched an eyebrow.

Hamilton lunged forward. There was a crunching sound as his fist connected with Ian's jaw. Ian staggered backwards, but regained composure. His amber eyes flared up, changing into a weird golden orange color. He mustered every strength he has to plant a solid kick on Hamilton's chest.

"Oh, my..." Amy rushed forward only to be pulled by Dan. Her brother was furiously shaking his head at her.

_Don't get in their way_, he thought at her.

_But, Dan -_

For the first time, Dan shot her a dead serious look. _Just chill, Amy._

"You think you're pretty smart, huh, Cobra? You don't know anything about me!" Hamilton yelled, raising his fist higher to hit Ian again.

"Says the person who does not think!" Ian spat, returning Hamilton's every punch.

"You're not really a nominee for The Best Older Brother Award, Lucian," Hamilton scoffed. "Work over family. Look what happened!" He pointed a proving finger at Natalie.

Ian's nostrils flared. He knows whatever it is he has done wrong, but no need to point it out and rub it in front of everybody's nose. "You... You little imbecile!" Fists and kicks flew once more. Hamilton already had a nasty bruise coming out of his arm. Blood was trickling down Ian's nose and mouth. But neither wanted to stop.

"Reagan, Madison, stop your brother!" Jonah ordered, pulling a still-punching Ian out of Hamilton's reach. Reagan and Madison immediately went to work. They wrapped a vise-like arm cage around Hamilton's waist, pulling him backward. "Stop it, Hammer!" They struggled with Hamilton's weight. Dan hastened to help the twins. "Hey, come on, dude. Back off," he said in an undertone. Ned and Ted joined Jonah in stopping Ian. Natalie had her jaw wide-open. She was too much in shock to react. _It's like the gauntlet all over again. The shouting, the hurting, the hitting._ Keightlyn noticed this and silently dragged her out of the commotion. Sinead's shouts were drowned by the noise.

Ian struggled against his captors. With a grunt, he successfully disentangled his self. "Excuse me a moment," he growled, massaging his sore jaw. He briskly wiped the blood off his nose and on the base of his jaw, ignoring the sharp pain that came after he did so. With a final glare at Hamilton's direction, Ian stomped outside.

"Get off me," Hamilton snapped, making his sisters and Dan fall off from their grip. Then, he, too, walked off... towards the boys' dormitory.

"This," Jonah started as he watched the two boys walk away, "is the thing I've been dreading of."

Angelle placed an arm above his. "Not only do our branches clash, but our attitudes, too."

Dan and Amy glanced at each other.

Amy's jade eyes were large with fear. _They hit each other, Dan. They. Hit. Each. Other._

_I know, I know. I saw everything._ Dan furrowed his eyebrows.

_Those Vermoes just had to mess things up! If we fail... Everything we worked hard for... Then, we're all going to d-_

_Amy. Freaking. Out. Cahill. Sis, we'll think up of something. So what if Cobra and Hammer fight? It's only one fight, right? The two of us fight all the time, and we get by just fine._

Amy shot him a look.

_Okay, so maybe you annoy me more than often,_ Dan amended. Another exasperated look from Amy. _Lighten up, Ames. Just trust me, we'll be fine._

"So, guys, how do we deal with this?" Ned asked. For once, he and his twin didn't complete each other's sentences. Ted was unusually quiet. Sinead, too.

There were greeted by something they didn't need nor want.

Silence.

XXxXXoXXxXx

**Whew. Nine pages on Word. **

**I mean no offense for anybody reading this who got offended in any way. I don't believe in stereotypes either. I love people no matter what they look like. What I don't like is when they start acting and being mean to other people. *sighs***

**So yeah, this is the start of the climax. The main story. Do continue reading :) I hope the excitement picks up from here on out. **

**Someone asked me how many chapters there will be... Hmm... I think this story will end before or on the month of August. I think. But I'm not so sure. I do hope, though, so that I could start writing other stories. I am not one who writes stories simultaneously, but I am a very good multi-tasker. Thumbs up for multi-taskers out there!**

**Question of the Day:**

**What is your favorite chapter so far? Why?**

**And... if I ever had a Twitter account, would you actually follow me? (Those who do not have an account... just take it hypothetically :)**

**Haha. What a random question. And just so you know, I am one of the 0.0000001 population who do not have a Facebook and a Twitter account. And I'm proud of it. Haha. **

**Oh well. Read and Review, guys! **

**A whole pack of egg-shaped chocolates with my name on it.**

**No, seriously. It does have my name on it.**

**If you'll excuse me.**

**Till the soccer balls,**

**MuchLove, PeaceOut!**

**AngelicSpring. **


	11. Chapter 10: XXXXXX

**I just noticed something.**

**Okay so you know Jay Sean, right?**

**And you know Dylan Thomas Sprouse, right?**

**Did you know...That...**

**Jay Sean looks like Ian Kabra and Dylan Thomas Sprouse is like the PERFECT Dan? (I LOVE THE SUITE LIFE THE MOVIE!)**

**End of Rant.**

**Weird, I know. Random, of course. Look them up, they really do. Or maybe something is really wrong with me... ****The previous chapter got the littlest amount of reviews. Was it horrible? But you know, the very generous people who reviewed gave me encouraging remarks. Thank you to those who reviewed :) My deepest gratitude and love. Especially to those who never stopped giving me their utmost support. :) I'm also very sorry. I hope by the coming of semestral break, I would be able to send PMs regularly. *sighs***

**DISCLAIMER:**

**Anubis: Opening of the Mouth. AngelicSpring does not own The 39 Clues, Neither does she own me. Closing of the Mouth. **

**(Long Silence)**

**ME: Whaa -?**

**Sadie: I know. That's what I always say. **

**上に物語で****！****On with the story – 'cause I'm feeling Japanese-y!**

XXxXXoXXxXx

Chapter 10: XXXXXX

The boy stared at his reflection. Water droplets streamed down his face; some hung stranded on the tips of his chocolate-brown hair. He breathed on the mirror, producing a thin fog on the surface. His cheek tilted upwards into a vehement smile.

_How stupid. How predictably stupid. Those Cahills are such pathetic wannabes. They actually fell for the trap. Of course, I had to know their weaknesses first. But for them to actually bite the cheese..._

He chuckled as he trotted out of the bathroom. He had changed out of his orange skinny jeans and into a comfortable pair of denim. He pulled his violet shirt over his head.

_Change your outer covering and those Cahills fall for it. Acting like a loser, dressing like one... I'm surprised the Janus members didn't see through my act and poor disguise. They were such oblivious morons. Luke would probably notice my tactic, my plan of striking their nerves. But, I guess I'm wrong. Are the Cahills really losing their... touch? _

His happy musings were interrupted by the opening of his bedroom door.

"Put a shirt on, you disgusting idiot!" a female voice snapped, her black hair cropped short, somewhere behind him. "What were you thinking, Al –"

The chocolate-brown haired boy held up a hand. "Do you really feel that comfortable in my presence as to call me by my first name?" He smirked slightly as he turned to face the speaker. "And is my half-nakedness bothering you?"

The black-haired girl, slightly younger than the boy, laughed. "Bothering me? Why would I be bothered by something so repulsive?" She threw him a white shirt which was hung on the bedpost. The boy caught it with amazing quickness and put it on. "As to your name, oh great one, would you rather I call you by your sudden pseudonym, Damien?"

The boy grinned, cold and teasing. "Appropriate, don't you think? Damien Vesper. Must have sent a sudden chill through those spineless Cahills." He laughed, his voice tinkling like the soft sound of chimes. "I was just teasing, my colleague. They fell for it, didn't they? Mission accomplished. Now we can proceed to our next phase."

The girl rolled her eyes at his offhandedness. "Was there _really _no other way? That was a risk! You, of all people! For a direct descendant of Damien Vesper to do such a thing, it's like you weren't thinking! What if they find out?"

"They won't," he replied, certain.

The girl opened her mouth to retort, only to have it closed again. _This has always been the fatal flaw of Damien Vesper's descendants. Underestimating their enemies._ She thought of ways on how to say this to the stubborn person in front of her. "Look, Al... I mean, Damien," she flinched inwardly at the name, "we cannot underestimate the Cahills." She tugged at her plaid skirt. "Surely they doubted your existence. That family you teamed up with is their neighbour. You're a new addition. Think about it. The Cahills know how to doubt, Damien. They doubt even their own kind."

'Damien' made a swooping motion with his hand. "Of course I know!"

"But then –"

He silenced her with a look. "Do really think I'm stupid?" he blared. "My move can be seen in two ways. They could fall for my disguise and swallow it without a doubt. Or... They could doubt it, but they wouldn't know what it means."

"Wouldn't... know... what it... means?" she echoed slowly.

Damien chuckled like he just shared a good joke. "Sure they could go, 'Oh my god, Vesper! Damien Vesper!' But at one point they'll think of how lame it is to expose myself to them."

"Exactly!"

"Confusion is the best strategy." He saw the ending of the conversation and pushed the ON button of his laptop. "They'll be too confused to think. And when there's no thinking, there's more fighting." He fingered the keyboard. "Trust me, I should know."

Honestly, the girl didn't understand any word of his 'plan'. But she is so not going to admit that. "And what if they don't take the bait? What if they don't attend this 'human chess' of yours?" she challenged, resting her hands on her hips.

Damien glanced at her. "They're Cahills. They don't back down from any fight. Because if they do, we won't be having this family feud in the first place."

There's that underestimating again. "Okay, let's agree to that. And what if –"

"What if you finish that little machine of yours first before you complain?" he cut off, dragging the cursor to an IM window.

The girl's eyes flashed and fists clenched in indignation. "If I remember correctly, it works, Damien," she hissed, her voice full of venom.

"Of course it does," he drawled sarcastically. "Then why, my dear, can't it separate blood contents properly as it was supposed to?"

Her cheeks reddened. "It can separate the plasma, haemoglobin, erythrocytes, leukocytes, thrombocytes, even the –"

"I know, I know. But that can only be considered genius if we are dealing with normal blood." He waited for one username to turn Available. "We're dealing with science-infested blood here."

"We're working on it."

"Well, isn't that good news," he said, words coated with deep sarcasm.

She calmed down. If she shows her anger towards him now, he'll just laugh in her face. _How can this jerk manage to infuriate her all the time? Ever since they were little!_ "If you're so genius, how are you going to deal with that family – Vermoes, was it? – that you have interacted with?"

There was a barely audible_ ting_ from his laptop. The person he's waiting for appeared Available. His or her username read Assassin01. Below him or her was nine other 'Assassins', rightfully numbered. He sent Assassin01 a quick message before responding. "You're right... they are troublesome."

The girl smirked. It fell as quickly as it came when realization dawned her. _Is he admitting defeat? No that can't be..._

The boy laughed. The same bloodcurdling laugh that will make you cower in fear. "I'll just have to... erase them, right?"

**XXXXXXX:** Work to be done. The family I told you last night. Do it without evidence.

**Assassin01:** I understand. I'll kill those Vermoes as soon as possible.

**XXXXXXX:** Perfect.

XXxXXoXXxXx

**I. Am. A. Horrible. Human. Being!**

**I am a bad person. I am a brutal person. I kill imaginary people! *sighs***

**As a penance and sign of gratitude, I have decided to do another project (but I stay by my word that I will finish this story first). You know how people write Reading the (insert title of an amazing 39 Clues book)? I have always wanted to do something like that, too. But then I'm afraid that would be horrifically cliché. So, to conclude I am going to try something new. **Reading the (insert any fan fiction story about the 39 Clues that you have read or written that you want me to do a story-in-a-story). **Is this allowed? Is this against any rules? Should I or should I not? Of course I would ask permission first. *sighs* I don't know. Is this allowed? Can someone answer my never-ending questions? **

**Or would you rather I make a Reading the Vespers Rising?**

**I think I would set up a poll about this. I hope you vote. Oh and yeah, review or send me a PM if you want a story – any story – for me to do a fan fiction of. What do you think? The poll would be, 'Should I make a fan fiction in a fan fiction or Reading the Vespers Rising?' Or something like that. **

**Question of the Day:**

**What do you think about my upcoming project? Or should I settle with Reading the Vespers Rising? It's all up to you. What's the best fan fiction (in any genre) that you have read? You can mention your own story. Because I believe an author should believe in what he writes before anything else. **

**Oh well. Ta-ta for now, I guess. School is so STINKING busy. We have a reporting on Greek gods and goddesses (I got Hera). We are to bake cookies in Home Econ. And we are supposed to do a Broadway number for Music. Waah! Any suggestions?**

**Till the music broadways, **

**MuchLove, PeaceOut! **

**AngelicSpring. **


	12. Chapter 11

**Wow. Whew. Another installment.  
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**School is a... a... is a school. There I said it. That's all you need to understand the whole yeah, you might want to check out the Prologue... I placed the FULL SUMMARY there. You know, for effect? Hahaha.  
><strong>

**I had a huge revelation today about FLAMES, by the way. I found out that they are given not to HURT people's feelings, but because there are concerned people who does not want the 39 Clues Archive to be all UNNECESSARILY CLOGGED. I've noticed that the 39 Clues Archive remains wonderfully facilitated. I hope people would tell me if I'm starting to become a nuisance here in the Archive. You know, because of my stories... *sighs* Thank you to the story ****When Mary Met Sue**** by Another Artist. It's nice that everybody is helping one another be better. I'm thinking of joining The Nellie Gomez Foundation. Haha. **

**WARNING: Long chapter ahead, so I won't mess so much with my A/N. Evan Tolliver and Kurt ahead, too. Haha. **

**The Standard Disclaimer applies.  
><strong>

**Read on :)**

xXXxxXxOxXxxXXx

Chapter 11: The Awkwardness, The Class and The Guest

"So..."

Ned's attempt for a conversation was met with awkward silence. Ted rushed to help his brother. "This is a great breakfast," Ted grinned, scanning the table for any response.

It was the fourth day ever since Ian-Hamilton Clash. Not one word was exchanged between the two boys. Mostly, they shunned everybody else and would only talk when absolutely necessary.

Attending training classes assigned for each day is always awkward. During Lucian classes which are first in their calendar (because Ian and Natalie finished their lesson plan first), Hamilton would simply stare out the window. Ian, being the speaker in front, would pretend he can't see Hamilton. As long as 'the blasted mad Neanderthal' participates, everything is fine.

During Tomas classes which are the day after Lucian classes, Ian would finish the routine as quickly as possible to get out of 'the wretched scenario'. Hamilton is fine by this. As long as 'the annoying British dimwit' does every exercise they have for that day, they wouldn't have to cross paths.

The boys' dormitory lost one camper. Ian decided to sleep in the library. "Unlike some people, I have business matters to attend to and to _think through_," Ian said, when Amy tried in vain to convince the two of them to make up. Ian works during his free time. He sells paintings online, but compared with personal advertisement, his sales are a bit a lower. That's why he needs to work harder.

Anyway, back to the topic at hand.

Sinead saw her brothers' discomfort. "These waffles are amazing. Right, Angelle?" She stared pointedly at the blonde for support.

Angelle cringed at the sound of her name. She nodded mutely.

Natalie sighed. She had enough of these silly attempts for a poor conversation. "Yes, yes. The waffles are great. They are not soggy, browny or squishy. Hurrah and all that," she said languidly, taking another small bite.

Dan shot her a venomous glare. "You could be more grateful than that, you know. It's not like you can actually cook."

"And how do you know I can't?" she shot back.

"Can you?"

Natalie was silent for a moment. "I can make sandwiches," she decided with a huge, triumphant grin.

Dan snickered. "Yeah. Making sandwiches is such a pain in the neck," he replied mockingly.

Silence. Nobody commented on their fight. Not even Amy who is uneasily drinking her glass of milk. Not even Ian who sat there, looking bored.

"Wow, this is _sooo_ annoying," Keightlyn bluntly commented.

"Finally!" Jonah exclaimed, raising his hands, palms up. "Someone who has enough nerve to state the obvious."

"Which reminds me," Angelle stated, looking at Amy. "Amy, why don't you tell them about the message?"

Amy shot her a withering look. "A-Angelle..." she mumbled, her voice strangely in its not-working mode.

Dan slammed his fist on the table. "Oh yeah! The Facebook message!"

Natalie glared at him. "You really had to shake the whole table for a Facebook message?" she asked disbelievingly. Then she started, realizing what it meant. "Oh." She glanced nervously at her older brother. Ian's expression remained impassive.

"What did it say?" Phoenix asked before all hell breaks loose again.

Dan scrambled in his jacket and pants pocket for his phone. He fished it out of his left pocket. He scanned through it hurriedly. "Here." He held it out for them to read. When nobody took it, he exhaled grumpily. "So lazy. Fine, I'll read it for you."

Ian stood up, nearly toppling his chair in the process. "Excuse me, I have more important matters to see through," he said sharply. All of them wordlessly stared at his wake. Amy sighed dejectedly. _How long is this supposed to go on? _

Hamilton grunted distastefully. "What a –"

"Don't," Sinead warned, giving him the look. "Just don't."

"I don't think we should read the message," Ned deliberated as he finished the last of his bacon and waffle. "Without Ian Kabra here," Ted finished, taking a swig of his half-empty milk.

"The 'human chess' garbage they were talking about is in a month," Dan reminded ruefully. "What do we do?"

Nobody spoke. Jonah glanced at his watch. "Okay, guys! Time for Janus classes."

xXXxxXxOxXxxXXx

"Ugh! I hate you, Daniel!" shrieked Natalie at the top of her lungs.

Jonah rushed over to his two most obnoxious pupils. The Janus room is divided into soundproof cubicles that doubled as individual classrooms. Dan and Natalie's mini classroom is at the middle; between the Starling twins and the Holt twins.

He barged inside. "What happened now?" he asked, knowing the drill.

Natalie pointed accusingly at Dan who was sitting at a stool in front of a drum set. "Why do you have to pair the both of us? I can't play my violin in peace! He keeps on making horrid beats in that godforsaken drum of his!" She mimicked playing the drums, her arms wildly swinging in front of her.

Dan didn't say anything. He simply played another ear-crashing beat a full minute long. Jonah bobbed his head in sync with the rhythm. When Dan was done, Jonah held out a fist. "That's cool, dude. Try doing it a little faster and with a little more bass drum and crash cymbal," he advised. Dan grinned tauntingly at Natalie.

"But, Jonah," Natalie tried again, this time with a little more force in her words. "I play classical and sophisticated music. I have no space for deafening tunes." She widened her amber eyes pleadingly. "I can play perfectly with Ian, though. He plays classical music well."

Jonah shook his head. "No, no, no, Natty. Ian and Amy should be paired together. It's, like, meant to be."

"Natty?" Natalie gasped horrified.

Dan stopped hitting the pedal on the bass drum, which he was doing rather mercilessly. "If I didn't know, you guys are just planning to play matchmakers on them." He pointed at himself. "Hello? Brother over here!"

"And sister over here, too. Alive and with NATALIE for a name. Not Nat, not Natty," Natalie added poisonously.

"Look, Natalie," Jonah said soothingly. "There are a lot of talented violinists out there who play for bands. Have you heard Secrets by OneRepublic?" The thirteen-year-olds shook their head. Jonah fumbled for his iPod. He handed it to them. "Look it up there. By the end of the week, I want you to play it. Perfectly," he added before leaving Dan and Natalie's cubicle.

Jonah trotted down and checked on the others. He saw Ned and Ted hitting each other with their oboes. Reagan and Madison are fighting whether to play the Dance of the Sugarplum Fairy or The Ballad of Mona Lisa in acoustic guitar. Sinead and Hamilton are faring well. They managed to combine the sound of the flute with the rhythm of Hamilton's beat box. They are on the last few bars of Canon Rock. Lastly, he checked on Amy and Ian. The glorious sound of Memories of Warmth filled the air. Since Amy and Ian are both playing the piano, they need to time their synchronization.

"Knock, knock," Jonah said, leaning on the doorway. He grinned at the two of them. He wasn't at the least bit noticed.

"Hmm..." Ian responded, looking intently at a particular bar. "Amy, don't you think this should be a little faster?" he asked.

Amy leaned for a closer look. "Yeah. So then it would be like this, right?" she demonstrated on her white piano. Ian got the black one. He nodded, hearing the perfect tempo. "From the top?" he said, smiling slightly. Amy nodded.

Jonah closed the door. "Yeah, sure guys, I'm not alive and standing in your presence," he muttered, walking towards Angelle and Keightlyn's cubicle. Then he grinned, "At least Ian's warming up to Amy. I'm such a good camp leader." He leaned towards the small window pane on the Saunder sisters. They were busy recording something. He opened the door slowly so as not to make a single squeak. Angelle's voice floated around the room.

_You're not alone, together we stand. I'll be by your side, you know I'll take your hand..._

Keightlyn followed, her soprano pitch-perfect.

_When it gets cold, and it feels like the end. There's no place to go, you know I won't give in... No, I won't give in..._

"Keep holdin' on, 'cause you know we'll make it through," Jonah continued, his own million dollar voice blending with their voice. Angelle's head snapped up. She removed her headphones.

Phoenix' head popped up from the recording box. "Dude!" he complained. "You really have to sing every song, is that it?"

"Long time since you sang, huh, Wizard?" Angelle said, right eyebrow raised.

"Huh?" _Has she not seen me in Who Wants to be a Gangsta? Or heard any of my hits? Or seen me and my music videos?_

Angelle saw the look on his face and understood what he was thinking. She tossed a pair of headphones at him. "Sing, as in what Phoenix does. Sing with meaning, remember?"

Jonah remembered his mornings when he was young. When all he wanted was to impress his parents, especially his mother. When he and his father would make up silly songs. When he and Angelle would spend hours trying to find words and notes that like each other.

He smiled at the headphones. "Sing with meaning, and mean what you sing," he said, taking a seat beside her. "Yeah, I remember."

xXXxxXxOxXxxXXx

Fifth day.

The next day is Lucian classes, headed by Ian and Natalie Kabra. It goes without saying that again, it would be awkward (with Hamilton), and sure enough it was. As the Holt trio entered the room with Ian's back turned to them because he was 'fixing important documents', everybody felt the air stiffen, if that was even possible.

Sinead leaned forward to whisper in Amy's ear. "I don't know about you, but I think they are so immature."

"It's not like we can do something about it," Amy whispered back. True, it has been five days since they have been like this. Apparently, there was an assault to 'pride' or something like that.

As everybody settled down, the Kabras (mostly Ian) started with their lecture. Hamilton resumed looking pointedly outside the window and making sure he makes Ian feel that he hates being in his class.

"Looking at the smallest of things is what you must do," Ian is saying, while the others listen or take notes. Ned and Ted tried doing their lecture with drawings. They drew an eye for 'looking', the computerized version for 'at', a nearly-invisible dot for 'smallest' and so on.

"For example, you will know someone is lying if their pupils dilate or their pulse," Ian touched the base of his neck lightly, "quickens." He picked up a white chalk and wrote on the blackboard; under the huge _LIES: How to know_.

"If the person is a horrible liar," he continued, "he will avoid looking into your eyes. Out of guilt, maybe."

"Wouldn't the person have swallowed all his guilt before lying?" Reagan asked, raising a hand up. "I would've," Madison added.

Ian nodded. "Yes. Although, the guilt sometimes makes him think that somehow if he looks into your eyes, you will be able to read his mind. Guilt makes you think things. Irrational things mostly." He shrugged. "It's all in your manner of speaking to him, I guess."

"I can relate," Dan spoke up. "I lie to Amy all the time. I tell her, I didn't send Evan that email, and all I have to do is act stupid."

"Was it hard?" Natalie sneered.

Amy paled at the meaning of Dan's words. "So you did send that email!" Amy whacked him on the head. "Are you stupid? You could've ruined my life! You are such a dweeb!"

Dan stood up and bowed like he had done a magic trick. "See? Am I being a good spy or what?"

The others are busy noticing a certain name rather than paying attention to Dan's usual and everyday activities. "Who's Evan?" Ned asked, grinning wickedly.

"Nobody," Amy said quickly. "Please continue, Ian."

Ian cocked an eyebrow. "It's not polite to avoid a question, Amy," he reminded her. Seriously, he just wanted to know who this Evan guy is. _A cousin should know, right? I mean, no matter how distant the cousin is,_ Ian thought, trying to hide the fact that he was trying hard not to clench his fist. _Yeah, just keep telling yourself that,_ an inner voice mumbled deep inside his consciousness. Natalie pretended she didn't see how weirdly her brother's fingers are twitching. Nothing gets past her Sherlock-Holmes-worthy eyesight.

Amy blushed. "He's... a..." _A what? Friend? Schoolmate? Lab partner? All of the above?_

"Suitor," Dan finished, twirling a pencil. "Evan Tolliver is a suitor."

There was an uncomfortable silence.

Amy could feel the boiling heat in her cheeks and neck. "Really, Amy? Is this Evan a suitor of yours?" Hamilton asked, forgetting that he shouldn't even pay attention to Lucian lessons. Classes could get interesting from time to time, after all.

"N-N-No, th-that's not i-it," Amy stammered, thinking of any excuse.

Dan nodded. "Of course, he's not a suitor!" He beamed. "He's _one_ of the suitors. 'Cause there's Kurt, too."

"Kurt?" Ted echoed, glancing pointedly at Ian. "So Kurt is another suitor... Wow..."

That was just crossing the line. "No! No, no, no," Amy said, standing up. "Wrong road! It's not like that."

Angelle and Jonah nodded at each other. Jonah leaned closer to look at Amy's face. Angelle placed two fingers above Amy's neck. "Her pupils are dilated, sir," Jonah declared. "And her pulse is amazingly quick, Professor Ian," Angelle winked at all of them.

"Ten bucks, Amy's palms are sweating," Dan called out. Keightlyn reached out and touched Amy's shaking hands. "Shaking and clammy," she confirmed.

Ian clapped his hands. "Well, we had a lecture and a practical application of our lesson." He 'fixed' yet another stack of 'important papers'. "All of you get an A+ for active participation," he eyed Amy with pursed lips. "Especially, Miss Cahill. That's it for today. Good day."

Natalie giggled. "Cheerio!"

xXXxxXxOxXxxXXx

Sixth day. Tomas Classes aka Physical Torture and Embarrassment.

Last meeting they were asked to do twenty laps. In a swimming pool. In. A. Swimming. Pool. To make things clearer, it was 7 feet deep and 100 meters. Enough said.

"Okay, troops!" Hamilton bellowed. "Give me fifty laps. Let's go, go, GO!"

"Fifty?" Natalie asked, tying her long black hair in a ponytail. "Are you bo – I mean, crazy?" She was wearing a shiny pink Prada tracksuit.

"We'll be dead before we have our Ekat classes tomorrow, you know?" Sinead put in.

Hamilton, Reagan and Madison sighed. "Fine," he conceded, "forty laps, then. This is why you have such low stamina."

Amy pursed her lips thoughtfully. "How about thirty?" she suggested.

"Thirty-five, Little Miss I've-got-boys-running-after-me, and it's a deal," Hamilton replied, an evil glint in his eyes.

"For the last time, they're not –" Amy started exasperatedly.

"Sis," Dan interrupted. "Do you want them to check your pupils and pulse again? Didn't think so."

Amy glared at him. _This is all your fault!_

Dan smirked. _Why? Did I make you look bad in front of your recent boyfriend, Ian Cobra? Or was it Evan today? Or Kurt. _He shrugged good-naturedly._ I'm sorry, I'm just your brother, and I can't remember all your suitors._

_That's not it! They're not 'courting' me and you know it!_

_Should I produce proof? Emails, letters, pictures?_

Amy's bright green eyes widened. _You didn't._

_I am a ninja, aren't I? So, yes. Yes, I did._

"You are so dead!" Amy screamed, chasing Dan around the oval.

Natalie looked up from detecting a scratch from her manicure. "Oh! Have we started yet? Okay," she started running at an average pace. The others followed, groaning while thinking of the thirty-five-lap torture ahead of them.

xXXxxXxOxXxxXXx

"Hey, Amy. I'll go get the pasta, so could you put the salad on the table for me?" Sinead asked, wiping her forehead with the back of her hand.

"Sure." Amy gingerly took the delicate salad bowl from her and walked out of the kitchen. Not long after she left, the kitchen door opened.

"Look, you two," Sinead said blandly, "I don't have time for your idiocy. I'll gladly tolerate your stupidity if you help scoop up some of this..." she gave an exasperated tug on the stuck noodles, "pasta."

A hand reached out and scooped the pasta (the whole casserole) into a huge bowl. Apparently, Sinead and Amy's cooking powers are not enough to make the pasta not intact. Sinead looked up, already having an idea who this person was. Hamilton was still looking at the strange looking lump Sinead called pasta. "I may not be that much of a cook, but I am sure that no way in idiocy is this called pasta," he said flatly, his voice sounding strangely absent-minded.

Sinead huffed. "If you're here to insult my and Amy's cooking," she pointed at the door, "you are so free to leave. Besides Gustavo called in sick and it's not like you boys would cook."

"Maybe, but I thought you'd 'gladly tolerate my stupidity' if 'I help you scoop some of this... pasta'," he quoted, raising an eyebrow. "I may not be two, but still."

A sigh escaped from her lips. "So what is this stupidity I'm obligated to tolerate?"

"Why can't that Kabra just APOLOGIZE?" he blurted out, sounding a lot demanding.

"E-Excuse me?" Sinead took a step back at the tone of his voice.

Hamilton shot her an exasperating look. "It's totally HIS FAULT! Thinking he knows EVERYTHING and saying STUPID things, and... and..." he trailed off, realizing how pointless his words are.

"Should I say something or should I let you blow off steam?" Sinead asked cautiously, not wanting to cause another verbal explosion from Hamilton.

Hamilton rested his face in his palm. "Say something," he said, his words slightly muffled.

"Hmm..." Sinead weighed the facts. What should she say at a time like this anyway? She thought hard. "Do you want me to be honest?"

Hamilton glanced at her unsurely. "Nothing good comes after those words. But sure... I guess."

"The two of you should apologize," Sinead said simply while she started preparing the pitcher of juice. "Both of you have good points, but, and I'm going to say this frankly," she warned, tipping an entire sachet of mango juice in the pitcher of cold water. "The two of you have such immature drawbacks." She mixed the contents with a ladle. "That said, we can conclude that both of you should just apologize."

"I really don't do apologizing," Hamilton snorted, crossing his arms.

Sinead handed him the pitcher and took the huge bowl of pasta in both hands. "Then, you can't expect anybody to apologize to you. Especially not Ian." She walked towards the door, ready to leave. She looked back. "Tell me when you have finally decided to, will you."

After lunch, Amy set about tending the garden. She remembered how long it was since she last did so. Uncle Fiske, and Nellie for some reason, had not come back from the Madrigal meeting they were talking about. Her shining red hair was pulled into a messy bun, playful strands of it hanging just beside her neck. She tugged at her gardening gloves which was sizes too big for her, since Dan picked it out for her. And in case you're wondering, yes it has ninja star prints on it.

She started with her petunias. Some were deep purple in color, some very light near the color of lavender. As she dug up little holes for different clusters of petunias, she can't help but wonder how amazing their colors are. The main purple is found in the middle, and it stretches out to different petals.

Her little spade struck something hard. She glared at the nuisance. It was a huge rock deep in the recesses of the soil. She tried scooping it with the spade to no avail. She tried tugging at it with her fingers, again to no avail. "Ugh. Just budge already," she groaned nearly giving up on the annoying rock.

"I don't think that rock is a very good follower," Ian commented, looking down at Amy's frustration with amusement. "Here, let me," he offered, taking the spade from her. With one quick flick of his wrist, the rock popped out from its hiding. "There."

Amy looked at him with narrowed eyes. "Why do you always seem to pop out of nowhere?" she asked.

Ian shrugged. "It's a talent," he replied cheekily. Then, came the smirk.

Amy sighed, thinking that would be the best answer she'll get from him. "What do you want, Ian?"

"Talk."

Amy stared at him. "Huh?"

"_Mrrp?_"

xXXxxXxOxXxxXXx

**Woohoo. Here comes the action (We Are The Champions tune is that even right?) We are nearing the end. Woohoo! Nine chapters to go... I think. **

**I love singing chapters. Good thing Jonah Wizard is here. And Nellie, don't forget Nellie. **

**QUESTION of the DAY:**

**Who is your favorite singer and WHY? **

**Sneak peek for the next chapter:**

Ian sighed, massaging his temples. "What my sister meant was," he started. "'With that odd behaviour, maybe something bad happened to them'," he translated.

"Oh."

"I doubt it," Angelle interjected. "They are at a Madrigal stronghold. They can't be in danger."

"Uh... guys. I think Cat-Dude just said something," Hamilton said, wide-eyed.

"Holt, he's just a talented cat, but a cat nonetheless. Cats don't speak," Sinead said, raising her eyebrows exasperatedly.

Hamilton looked at her, his eyes as big as golf balls. "I know that. But that does not mean he can't do Morse code, right?" He pointed at the Persian rug.

All of them gasped at the sight of it all. A message. In Morse code.

**Read and Review.**

'**Cause there is more imagination where this came from,**

**MuchLove, PeaceOut!**

**AngelicSpring. **


	13. Chapter 12

**Happy Saturday, awesome people of FF!**

**Thank you for the EXTREME AWESOMENESS reviews! Woohoo! There are a lot of reasons to be happy! First, because AngelicSpring is now part of TNGF! *clap, clap, clap* Second, because there is this awesome (is this the word of the day or what?) Detective Conan chapter where Kazuha is FINALLY confessing to Heiji! Waah! *just murdered the exclamation point/number one button* Third, because Medusa's Plot and The King's Ransom are going to be released this YEAR! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! **

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own The 39 Clues. I do not own Harry Potter 7 Part 2 even if we ARE going to watch it today! So I better hurry up and upload this, like IMMEDIATELY! Harry, Ron and Hermione, here I come!**

**Anyways, on with the story, my fellow Fan Fictioners. On with the story, I say!**

XXXxxXxOxXxxXXx

Chapter 12: The Allergy, The Warning and The Instruction

They stared at each other. "Was that..." Ian asked, looking around him.

There was a gentle rustling from her hydrangeas. The spotted silver fur came bounding on Amy's lap. "Saladin!" Amy cheered, while the cat licked her palm.

"Why is it that every Cahill member in this household seems to prohibit me from talking to you?" Ian whispered, low enough for Amy not to hear him. He sighed as he eyed Amy making her way inside. She looked back at him. "You coming?" she asked, still stroking Saladin's fur.

Ian stuffed both hands in his pockets. "I think... I'll take a walk." He sighed for the second time, now looking at the blue skies. "The sunny weather is too lovely to pass."

Amy paused to study him. "Okay... Whatever you say..." she said slowly and unsurely.

XXXxxXxOxXxxXXx

"How'd you get here, buddy?" Dan said in a weird just-for-babies-only tone. He ruffled and scratched at Saladin's fur, like what you do with dogs.

Saladin tried to squirm out of Dan's grip. "_Mrrp_?" Saladin gave him a withering look and tried to squirm some more.

Natalie giggled. She sat as far away from the cat as possible. She so does not need another allergy attack because of that cat. "I may not understand cat talk, but I think he just said how weird and stupid you looked," she pointed out.

Saladin reached curiously for Natalie. The cat seemed to remember her face as the one who sneezed endlessly on his face. Dan held him against his chest protectively. "Saladin did not, I repeat not," he glared at her, "say that. Did you, buddy?" He held him at eye's length. Saladin raised, well not an eyebrow, just the... the fold of skin above his eye. But nonetheless, it expressed _Really, dude? Really?_

"An Egyptian Mau..." Sinead mused. She looked a bit troubled by something she saw in Saladin.

"What about it, Starling?" Hamilton asked.

"I wonder how he got inside. I've never seen a cat so talented before," she pointed out.

Hamilton looked at her like she just fell from outer space. "Wha?"

Ian nodded. "It's true. With all the security systems around this household." He sat up, realization hitting him. "Unless, he was trained. Cahill trained, that is. But of course..." He started mumbling incoherently to himself.

"Saladin was trained before us," Amy supplied, looking at their bewilderment. "He was personally trained by Grace. It's natural for him to open locks, dodge security cameras and detonate bombs."

"Wow," Jonah breathed, seeing the cat in a new light.

Saladin looked a lot smug.

"So, buddy, where's Nellie and Uncle Fiske?" Dan asked the cat again. Saladin responded to Dan's question with a yelp and a terrifying jolt. Dan let him go. Saladin started hissing at nobody in particular, like the words 'Nellie' and 'Uncle Fiske' are buttons for the weird behavior. He clawed at the Persian rug mercilessly. Hamilton reached out and plucked the rampaging cat out of the rug. He held it high, even though Saladin kept on clawing at the air.

"Oookaay..." Ned and Ted said together. "What was that about?"

"I-I don't kn-know," Amy replied, eyeing Saladin's weird behaviour.

Phoenix raised his hand. "Well, it can't be that he's implying something, right?"

"What do you mean, yo?" Jonah looked at his cousin.

"Implying something about Nellie and Uncle Fiske," Keightlyn clarified.

Natalie sneezed. "Wid dat odd behabior, baybe subding bad habbened to dem," she suggested, her nose amazingly red. She sneezed again.

"Uh... tranchlation, blease?" Dan mocked, trying hard not to laugh at Natalie. But of course, he's Dan. He laughed aloud, pointing at Natalie. The girl threw couch pillows at him.

Ian sighed, massaging his temples. "What my sister meant was," he started. "'With that odd behaviour, maybe something bad happened to them'," he translated.

"Oh."

"I doubt it," Angelle interjected. "They are at a Madrigal stronghold. They can't be in danger."

"Uh... guys. I think Cat-Dude just said something," Hamilton said, wide-eyed.

"Holt, he's just a talented cat, but a cat nonetheless. Cats don't speak," Sinead said, raising her eyebrows exasperatedly.

Hamilton looked at her, his eyes as big as golf balls. "I know that. But that does not mean he can't do Morse code, right?" He pointed at the Persian rug.

All of them gasped at the sight of it all. A message. In Morse code.

XXXxxXxOxXxxXXx

It took Dan and Hamilton two minutes and three seconds to solve the entire message.

The message said : "'What were you doing? Lives in danger. Can't go inside HQ. Fight back. No choice.'"

Ian pointed at one word. "Where's this HQ?"

"They meant here. They can't go inside here," Amy responded, her voice quacking.

"Fight back?" Dan asked. "What is that supposed to mean?"

Angelle held out an iPhone. "I think this is what they meant."

Dan felt his pockets for his phone. "Hey, that's my phone!" he complained indignantly. And nobody paid attention to him.

"Is this proof enough yet that my deduction is correct?" Ian said through gritted teeth.

**To all useless and pathetic Cahills and their equally useless and pathetic relatives,**

**Greetings!  
>No, not really. Erase that. <strong>

**We hate you. **

**And since you're so stupid, we know for a fact that we will win this challenge. The rules are so simple you're pea-sized brains could even comprehend it.**

"Whoa! Did they just insult us?" Hamilton yelled. "Who do they thi-"

"You're really not in place to talk, Tomas," Ian spat, shooting him a venomous glare.

"Don't fight. Please," Amy begged. Her heart is already thumping hard against her chest. Are they really in danger? Could this be the end?

**First Instruction: Assign one leader or the chess master. The Chess Master is in charge of controlling the pieces. The pieces are going to be the remaining members. **

**Second Instruction: Dress up as your character. For example, you are assigned to be the King, dress up as a King. Duh.**

"It's not like we asked them to give an example," Dan snorted. "What a bunch of morons."

**Third Instruction: A helicopter (yeah, you read it right. Helicopter. Because we're rich, and you're not. Idiots) would be fetching all of you and would bring you to the arena. **

Natalie scoffed, rolling her eyes in the process. "Helicopter? Really? Is that the best they could do? How peasant-like." She sat precariously away from Saladin as possible.

**Fourth Instruction: Read this, you morons. Because these are the mechanics. **

Sinead cleared her throat nervously. "I don't think I like the sound of 'arena' very much. It sounded so..."

"Barbaric?" Amy.

"Murderous?" Angelle.

"Horrific?" Ian.

"Mysterious?" Ned.

"Bloody?" Natalie.

Sinead flinched with each word. "Yes, pretty much," she said in a small voice.

"Just read the rest of the message," Hamilton said, resignedly. "And let's get it over with."

Ian huffed. "Sure. Now you say something like that."

Natalie cupped a hand on his brother's mouth. Reagan and Madison both slapped their hands in front of their brother's mouth. "Not one word out of you," they said altogether with a sharp look at their captive.

Dan whistled. "Whew. And who said little siblings are not scary." He eyed Amy pointedly.

"They can be scary in a lot of different ways, Dan," Amy retorted.

**Mechanics:**

**In choosing the chess master and the pieces, here are the criteria:**

**The Chess Master should be capable of making strategically-based decisions for he/she is to 'move' the members like chess pieces. He/she should have the nerve to lead his/her subordinates to safety or otherwise. Therefore, the chess master should be someone who is smart... no, not smart. Wise. The Chess Master is given ten chances to move as a start. These chances are depicted as STARS. From then on, the King and Queen should answer the questions for them to be able to make a move. **

**(Good luck finding someone like that among you, losers.)**

"Hey!" Sinead, Ned and Ted responded, obviously offended.

"They don't know you're amazingly smart, ya know?" Reagan offered.

"Or don't they?" Ian asked, scowling at Hamilton.

**Next would be the King. The King should answer the set of questions at a given time. There are fifteen questions that should be answered at a maximum of two minutes. (Fifteen correct answers = one STAR) He could also answer the questions to protect his followers, even the Queen. He could not directly make the move, though. He has to talk with the Chess Master first. To talk with the chess master is equivalent to one STAR, and therefore he should answer fifteen questions before any suggestions. **

**(Too much to handle yet, Cahills?)**

Dan and Natalie snorted. At least, for Natalie with a little bit more class. "You wish!" they said stubbornly.

Angelle glanced at them. "That's a first. The two of you agreeing on something, I mean."

"A first and a last," Natalie appeared undisturbed. She flipped her hair superiorly.

"_Sou, sou_," Dan agreed with crossed arms, nodding importantly. "We can't agree all the time."

"And they just agreed to each other again," Keightlyn remarked.

**The Queen is the King's partner. Nobody could attack the King directly, but they could attack the Queen. The enemy should attack the Queen first, reduce her energy level to the lowest possible and then, and only then, could they attack the King. The King and Queen could work on the questions together. It is the King's job to protect the Queen at most. To attack the Queen, the opponent should give up two STARS to move. **

"Okay, so any volunteers to be the Queen?" Jonah said jokingly, hoping to make the tension a little bit lighter. It didn't work. Obviously.

"Smooth, Wizard. Just plain smooth," Angelle told him sarcastically.

**Next is the Bishop. The Bishop is someone who could advise the King to making the wisest of decisions. He is also capable of making certain trades with the opposing team. That is, he could trade weaponry or armor or anything at all that your 'kingdom' wishes for anything that is equivalent to the traded item. Everything goes through him first. **

**(If you can even trade something, morons.)**

"Billion dollar, platinum records and amazingly golden voice," Jonah suggested.

"Awesomeness, more awesomeness and endlessly awesomeness," Dan said.

"Looks, brilliant sense of fashion and more looks," Natalie piped in smugly.

**The Knight is the head of the army. Therefore, it is his job to protect and fight for everyone else. Whenever the King and Queen answer a set of questions, mostly the chance to move is given to the Knight. The Knight then could attack anybody he wishes. Of course, everything should go through and be approved by the Chess Master. **

Ian pursed his lips to the side. "They came up with a pretty complex criteria, didn't they? Another proof that –"

"Okay, fine!" Hamilton raised his hands up in the air. "So you're right! Whatever! What's done is done!"

Ian growled deep in his throat. "Yes, could you please write that down, Tomas? So that Nellie or Mr. Cahill could say that in our eulogy! Or write them on our gravestones!"

"Should I continue reading or what?" Angelle snapped. That shut everybody up.

**The Prince and The Princess. They really don't do much. The Prince could help the Knight with fighting the enemies. The Princess is more vulnerable than the Queen. To attack the Princess, the enemy should give up one chance to move. So mostly, the Prince just had to protect the Princess. **

**The Pawns. The pawns could move by pairs. They could attack and serve as a fort. For the pawns to move, all the team has to do is give up one chance to move. Nobody could attack the pawns; they could only be erased after three strikes. A strike could be incurred just like an attack. **

**Choose wisely, Cahills. Or it may be just your end... **

**Wow, did that sound evil or what? Damien, suggested it.**

"Of course he did," Ian hissed, his fist clenched.

**Oh and yeah. Cheating will result to disqualification. And you do NOT want to be disqualified.**

**TTFN,**

**Vermoes. **

"Is it just me or are we in danger?" Dan asked, looking at the others. "Seriously, I think we are in danger."

Natalie shot him an exasperated look. But even her look seemed weak. "You think, Daniel? You think?"

Dan nodded seriously. "Okay. So then older Cobra I'm going to borrow something from you, okay?"

Ian looked at him, his expression tired and guarded. "What is it, Daniel?"

Dan cleared his throat importantly, as if getting ready for a long speech. "Here it goes..." He closed his eyes. "_Bloody hell_."

"Got that right. Word," Jonah whispered, still looking at the message.

XXXxxXxOxXxxXXx

**D.O.N.E!**

**Here's an interview on our characters regarding your concerns:**

**ME: So, welcome to the show, Jonah Wizard.**

**Jonah: (looks at me weirdly) What's with the weird formality, yo?**

**ME: (rolls eyes) I'm a talk show host. Duh.**

**Jonah: (looks me over) A talk show host in pajamas. Riiight. (his turn to do the eye-rolling)**

**ME: Just answer my question, will ya?**

**Jonah: Whatevs.**

**ME: (throws away the 'script', slams fists on the table, wild burning rage in the eyes) Why did you pair Dan and Natalie when you know that Dan is playing the drums and Natalie is playing the violin? WHY, Jonah? WHY?**

**Jonah: (backs down and falls off the chair) (stands up) I... uh... **

**Angelle (voice-over): Because he told me it was cute!**

**ME: (leans in with the same burning rage) Cute? That was your reason, Wizard? What kind of a –**

**Jonah: (raises both hands in defense) They need to learn how to work together. I mean, have you ever heard of the saying Oil and Water don't mix? Well, I'm planning of mixing them, so... And besides, it's a Madrigal thing to do, ain't it? Making peace and all that? So LEAVE ME ALONE! (runs away, screaming his lungs off)**

**(door slamming)**

**ME: (smiles widely at the audience) Till next week. **

**Camera Man (Dan Cahill's turn): And cut! Wow, you freaked Jonah Wizard out. (looks at me with weird respect)**

**Sneak Peek for the Next Chapter:**

There was another round of long silence. Finally Ian clapped his hands. "Well said, Amy, love. Very well said," he declared, smirking slightly. "My, my. How you've matured through the years."

"W-Way to go breaking the mood, I-Ian," Amy muttered, blush creeping up to her cheeks.

"Okay, Romeo and Juliet," Jonah said, impersonating a perfect British accent. "Break it up." Sinead, Hamilton and Angelle snickered, temporarily forgetting the tension.

Ian and Amy rolled their eyes.

**What did Amy say? What is going on? Who ate the last slice of MY custard cake? Stay tuned.**

**LEGALLY RANDOM,**

**AngelicSpring. **


	14. Chapter 13

**O.. I am so sorry. I failed to upload last Saturday. (wears cone of shame) Let me tell about the things we need to do: make our own god/goddess out recycled materials (for English and Arts), review for our quarterly examinations (ALL subjects), Broadway (Music), PHYSICS (enough said!)**

**Thank you for the reviews. You lift me up out of my school misery. **

**Anyways, I received way too many warning about my A/Ns so I shall end here. **

**I do not own... (first one to guess is the smartest FFer) (Wha?)**

**Go on and Read.**

XXxXXoXXxXx

Chapter 13: The Proposition, The Task and The Trust

"What do we have to do just so you guys would make up already?" Angelle whined, slamming her fists on the dinner table. Fascinating, really. Seeing a seventeen-year-old whine. Jonah looked at her amusedly.

"If I could make sure that my sister and I would get out alive in this one," Ian declared flatly, clearly seeing nothing amusing in the situation.

Amy bit her lower lip thoughtfully. "We'll just have to work together now. That's what Nellie's message said."

"No choice. Fight back. Something like that." Dan yawned hugely. "If we don't fight back, we'll die. Simple."

He dodged a flying ballpen, courtesy of Natalie. "It's not simple, you daft!" she growled.

"We are not going to sleep until these two childish boys," Angelle glowered at Hamilton and Ian, "make up. We could stay here until the next morning without sleep. Now that's simple."

Ned, Ted and Dan whined, and started fake sobbing. Soon enough, all of them were dodging flying ballpens and notebooks courtesy of Amy, Sinead and Natalie.

"What do you want me to do?" Hamilton and Ian demanded. They glared at each other with clenched fists and gritted teeth.

"Apologize. So that we could work on this blasted thing and win this battle," Jonah said, looking like a stern disciplinarian father. Angelle shot him a raised eyebrow.

"Why don't you just ask dear, old Lucian to help you? Since he's so smart?" Hamilton sneered, pointing his thumb at Ian.

"That's it! I've had enough of this idiocy!" Sinead glared at Hamilton. "If these two immature people won't make up, then let's just go our separate ways. We will go pack our stuff and abscond this derelict place. It doesn't make any disparity anyway! We stay here; we perish because you," she pointed accusingly at the two boys, "won't fix your mess diplomatically. We abscond; it's like plastering a blinking plasma-infested sign that says, 'I'm a Cahill. Kill me now!" She was panting slightly from all that ranting. Her breath came in small gaps as her chest heaved in and out, her steely glare never once leaving Hamilton and Ian.

The others (except for Ned, Ted, Amy and Natalie), on the other hand, are still busy racking their brains for their last Ekat lessons. They can't seem to remember the meaning of all the big words Sinead have used. Finally, Dan can't take it anymore so he whispered to Natalie who is (unfortunately) beside him. "What's derelict, disparity and abscond? And what's plasma-infested supposed to mean?" His eyebrows are actually furrowed in deep concentration.

Natalie gave him the iciest version of The Look. "Look it up, Daniel. I'm not in the mood for tutoring a dweeb."

Dan raised his fist, pretending to smash Natalie's head with it. "You're lucky I'm patient, Cobra. Or else..." he threatened, making swishing motions with his clenched fist like plunging a knife.

Natalie spared him a mere roll of the eyes.

Sinead huffed. "This is how I see it. We should just put it to a vote." She gazed around, seeing the others' attention on her. "Those who want to stay here, say 'aye'. Those who do not..." She raised an eyebrow sardonically. "Well, get outta here."

"Aye." Some declared that proudly, some muttered the word unsurely.

"I dunno if I should say aye," Dan confessed glumly. "This is my house, right? In case you guys are forgetting." He looked at them for moral support, like he lost a relative or something.

"And I _don't know_ if I should say aye precisely because of your reason," Natalie said, emphasizing the difference between 'peasant' grammar and 'sophisticated' grammar.

Sinead rested her hands on her hips. "And the two of you? Aye or not aye?" She checked her watch with a swift flick of her wrist. "It's nearly one in the morning."

Dan, Ned and Ted started groaning and moaning and whining again. Catching the sadistic glares the others are giving them, they quickly shut their trap.

"I don't have much of a choice, do I?" Ian grumbled, knowing his defeat. "Natalie said aye."

"Same here," Hamilton said grudgingly.

Angelle sighed. "That's a start, I guess." She began pulling out a whiteboard and a marker. She began scribbling swiftly. _What Do We Do. _She fixed her eyes on the others expectantly. "Any suggestions?"

Amy must admit she was stumped. If there was anybody in this room who could make a foolproof plan, it's Ian Kabra. She shot him a furtive glance. In synchrony, Ian withdrew a slow breath and there it goes, The Smirk. "Of course I have a plan," he said, taking the writing materials from Angelle.

"Hallelujah!" Dan, Ned and Ted exclaimed gratefully.

XXxXXoXXxXx

"You're crazy if you think I'll agree to your _brilliant_ plan!" Sinead screeched, her voice sounding an octave higher.

Ian stared stoically at her. Completely expressionless.

Sinead continued. "You are putting all your lives in my hands! Do you even understand that, Kabra?"

Still the expressionless and stoic face.

"Ugh!" Sinead groaned, seeking help from the others which they can't give.

"Sis, it's late. Just agree already." Ned and Ted yawned hugely.

"What if I make a mistake?" Sinead asked.

"Anybody could."

"What if I make the wrong strategy?"

"Anybody could."

Natalie held a hand for interruption. "Technically, we could NOT make a wrong strategy... There might be little flaws, very little indeed, but still... We're Lucians, after all."

Sinead raised both her hands in her direction. "Exactly! Why don't you Lucians do it?" she demanded.

Ian feels the urge to do a repeated face palm. "Because, Miss Starling, we need to confuse our enemy. They expect Lucians to be the chess masters because we are the master strategists in our family. If we arrive there performing the duty of the chess master, then they'll know who is who –"

"And would know who to abduct and what DNA they are expecting from us." Sinead sighed. "I get it."

Amy who has been silent for the last couple of hours spoke up. "We need to confuse them of our real talents. Most of us are not part of the kidnapping anyway. There's a huge chance they don't even know what branch Natalie and the others belong. And they must have just assumed that there would be a Tomas in our batch to 'play the game' Ian is talking about."

Dan, Ted, Phoenix, Reagan, Madison and Keightlyn had their heads on their table, already sleeping. Jonah is on the verge of a deep slumber. His head kept on bobbing sleepily.

"Give me back my baseball cards, Cobra," Dan mumbled in sleep, falling off the chair.

Natalie raised an eyebrow. "I sure do hope I'm not the one he's accusing of baseball cards theft," she noted lazily. She checked her perfectly manicured nails. "I hate baseball cards."

"You little monster," Dan continued to mumble.

Natalie kicked him hard. "I hate you, too," she said with a huge smile. Dan stirred ever so slightly in his sleep.

Angelle clapped her hands. "Okay, that's it. Ned, Ted, Reagan, Madison, Phoenix, Dan, Keightlyn, and even you, Natalie," she eyed the little girl who merely nodded at her, "go to bed. Now, up, up, up, UP!"

All of the mentioned people perked up and walked up to the dormitory absentmindedly. Ned and Ted bumped each other with strength enough to make them topple over. Dan bumped the wall headfirst. Natalie sighed, flipping her hair to the side. "Why must I always be the mature one in this bunch?"

"Why... can't I go to bed... too?" Jonah mumbled, resting his head in his hand. "I'm sleepy..." he whined.

"Don't be such a baby!"Angelle yelled, her voice sending huge and terrifying sound waves in Jonah's ears. Jonah perked up, sitting all straight and proper.

"Let's say I agree," Sinead said slowly, considering the idea. "Can you trust me with all these responsibilities? With your lives? With your families' lives?" She knows the answer would be 99.99% no, but she still posed this as a challenge.

Nobody spoke. The truth slapped them hard. No matter how long they have been together, no matter how hard the circumstances they have been through already, no matter what kind of training you put them through... They will never find it in them to trust one another.

"I want to be happy," Amy stated.

Hamilton looked up at her. "What's that got to do with anything?" he asked thoughtfully.

"Walter Anderson once said," she proceeded on, "'We're never so vulnerable than when we trust someone – but paradoxically, if we cannot trust, neither can we find love or joy.'" She drew huge long breath. "Trust is very hard to give. It's fragile and when broken, even when fixed, it will never be the same again. We, the Cahills, should know about that more than anyone."

The others were silent once more.

"But you know, if we don't try, if we don't give it away," she gave them all a serene smile, "we'll never know how strong it has gotten, will we? We'll just assume that our trust is still breakable, but when in truth, it's stronger and more reliable."

There was another round of long silence. Finally Ian clapped his hands. "Well said, Amy, love. Very well said," he declared, smirking slightly. "My, my. How you've matured through the years."

"W-Way to go br-breaking the mood, I-Ian," Amy muttered, blush creeping up to her cheeks.

"Okay, Romeo and Juliet," Jonah said, impersonating a perfect British accent. "Break it up." Sinead, Hamilton and Angelle snickered, temporarily forgetting the tension.

Ian and Amy rolled their eyes.

"I can trust you, Starling," Hamilton said.

"Me, too," Angelle smiled warmly at her.

"Me, three," Jonah piped up.

"Me, four," Ian said, rolling his eyes at the weird grammar.

"And me, of course," Amy beamed.

Hamilton grinned. "Now let's set about planning who's who, shall we?"

"We shall, Holt. We shall," Ian responded.

And everything is going to be alright.

Maybe.

XXxXXoXXxXx

**Well.**

**That was short.**

**How about I post another chapter tomorrow? How does that sound? Ugh. It's like 8:48 in the evening. Mwahaha - *cough, cough* I hope I get this laziness out of my system. Review to help me? **

**We're nearing the end! Seven chapters to go. Haha. Oh and yeah. 'Damien' Vesper has an important character. Finally! After weeks and weeks of pondering. Can you guess?**

**Oh and yeah. The chess part is coming near, but not the next few chapters. It will be... Chapter 18 and 19, I hope. Will you wait for that? Don't worry those chapters and the preceding and proceeding chapters will be long, I hope you continue on waiting and alerting and favoriting (?) this story. There will be more...? Revelations? *sighs* I'm confusing myself. But don't worry, it's tightly planned in my head. I just need the power of diligence. **

**Read and Review?**

**QUESTION of the DAY:**

**How would like a story to end: Happy ending or Tragedy? **

**ASpring is recommending A Kiss in Time by Alex Flinn. **


	15. Chapter 14

**I am pretty sure I have, like, TOTALLY MAJOR mistakes in this chapter. Waah! I rushed through it and I'm feeling dizzy and stuff. *sighs* There's this stupid, plaguing headache and it just won't come out! Ugh! Anyways, thanks for the AWESOME reviews. I read them today and wow! Just wow. You guys really go out of your way. Honestly, I would appreciate a review, even if all it says is ':)'. Hahaha. **

**We're nearing the end. A little bit more patience. Haha. **

**Read and Review?**

**Without further ado, here it goes, Chapter 14. I hope you enjoy... 'Cause that's what matters.**

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Chapter 14: The Pairing, The Bottle and The Mystery

"Noooooo!" Dan and Natalie yelled, waking the entire neighborhood. The alarm of the car outside broke off, resounding and acting as an infernal wake-up call.

"I don't want to be paired with that monster," they said and pointed at each other with intense loathing. They glared at each other. "Don't say my lines!" they yelled.

"That's my line!"

"No, mine!"

"Shut up!"

"You shut up!"

"I HATE YOU!" they screamed.

"TROOPS! SHUT THE TRACKSUITS UP!" Hamilton bellowed, his seventeen-year-old jock voice drowning every noise. Even the chirping birds outside shut the tracksuits up. "Starling?" He gestured towards Sinead.

"Thanks, Holt." Sinead paused dramatically. "Look, you two! What in the name of Klein bottles is your PROBLEM?"

"I slept for only two hours," Ian grumbled to no one in particular, but it was enough for Amy to hear. "And when I wake up, screaming welcomes me. What is wrong with me?"

Amy chuckled softly. "You should probably get used to it."

Ian glanced at her. "Doesn't all this bother you, Amy?"

"Two words." She held up two fingers for stress. "Nellie and Dan."

"And I wonder why I understand," Ian sighed.

"As much as I want to be a princess, which I am," Natalie was saying, "I do NOT want to be paired with that... that..." She glared at Dan some more, a gesture Dan was only too happy to give back. "Ugh!"

"Why can't I just be a ninja?" Dan demanded, slamming his hands on the table.

"Were you not with us when we read the instructions?" Angelle asked in disbelief. "Have you read 'ninja' there? Huh, Dan?"

Dan turned to ask his sister for help. She would help him out of this. Right? "A-my..." he pleaded.

"I-an..." Natalie pleaded, widening her amber eyes and looking at her brother's same ones.

"Now they turn on us," Ian told Amy distastefully.

Amy nodded. "Probably wants for us to take their problems away."

Dan rolled his eyes. "Uh... Duh!" He grabbed Amy's shoulders and started shaking her vigorously. "You're older! Do something!"

Amy swatted both his hands away. "And what do you want me to do, Mr. Duh?"

Dan groaned, slamming his face into his palm. "I've always known that Cobra is a bad influence to you."

Natalie flicked Dan's forehead. "Don't bring out the effects of your madness on my brother!"

"Why... you..."

Angelle placed two fingers on her lips and performed an ear-piercing whistle. Jonah massaged a part of his ear. "Wow," he said, a little dazedly. "That girl could whistle. And whistle good."

"You have two choices, fellas," Angelle declared, looking at them intensely. Dan and Natalie nodded their heads eagerly. "One, Dan could be the Prince and Natalie could be the Princess," she said, holding up a finger.

"No deal," they said together. Then, comes the glaring part.

"Or, Natalie could be the Prince and Dan could be the Princess," Angelle smirked, cold and intimidating. "Take your pick."

The two exploded into amazing, out-of-this-world, never-before-heard, colorful language. They continued on ranting and screaming and turning the place upside down literally.

Hamilton leaned back on his chair with his feet on the table. He was only balancing his weight with his feet; otherwise he would brutally fall down. "I like my role though." He placed both arms behind his head. "I'll be the Knight," he said, imitating Ron Weasley's accent. He laughed hysterically at his own silliness.

Sinead tapped his foot impatiently. "Feet off the table, Holt. Besides, we chose the pairing tactfully. There is a purpose as to why you were chosen accordingly. And not because... we think it's cute," she added, nearly incoherent.

Ian sighed. "I'm not exactly thrilled by that commentary, you know." Once these lot set their minds on something, there's no breaking through it.

"Aww... Is Ian playing the protective older brother now?" Angelle said, in a weird, sugary tone.

"Unless there is something I should be protective of." Ian raised a demanding eyebrow.

"'Course not, 'course not," Sinead intervened quickly. "We just think Dan would do well with the part..."

"I highly doubt that," Amy mumbled.

"And that Natalie would be perfect, too."

"I highly agree to that," Natalie cooed. Dan gagged spectacularly.

"And," Sinead said, getting ready for her grand conclusion. "And, besides – Ned and Ted get those things out of your mouths this instant!"

Ned and Ted started. They both have sausages in their mouths, probably trying to see who gets to put most in his mouth.

Phoenix rubbed his eyes. "Is the shouting done yet?"

Keightlyn yawned. "Yeah. I guess it is. Coast is clear."

Reagan and Madison poked their heads out of the table. "Whew. Glad that was over with," they chorused, crawling out from under the table. Their thumbs were red from too much thumb wrestling. "Thought that would never end," they complained.

"Hey! Where did the sausages and bacon go?" Jonah demanded, looking under the plates and the table.

"All of you were too busy yelling at each other," Phoenix stated, sipping his glass of grape juice.

"That we finished all of it up," Keightlyn finished. She proudly showed them her clean plate.

Jonah slumped on his seat. "Gah!"

"And why did you choose Ian and Amy as the King and the Queen? Any reason behind that? Any twisted, devious reason?" Dan growled, munching angrily on his toast.

Angelle started making baby-calling noises. "Aww... Is Dan playing the –"

Dan shot Angelle a scornful look. "Don't use that on me. Don't, as in ever."

Jonah gave him his million-dollar smile. "Oh, that is because we think it's cute," he admitted, not feeling the slightest hint of shame.

"Jonah!" Angelle chided, slapping his arm none too gently. "You can't go telling people the truth like that!"

"I'm out of here," Ian and Amy said at once, standing up with their plates.

"Kabra and Amy could answer the questions faster than anybody here," Sinead said tiredly. She barely slept last night. She kept on mulling over what to do. It's like what she need to do is not the right thing.

Hamilton was nodding his head in agreement. "Especially if they work together."

"Speaking of answering questions," Sinead exclaimed, remembering something. "Go get your Ekat notebooks. It's time for our classes."

Everybody groaned.

XXxXXoXXxXx

"Today's lesson is on the Klein bottle. How it works, what it means and how to make one," Sinead lectured, writing KLEIN BOTTLE in huge letters on the white board. The Ekat classroom is like a science lab. It has tables, well-tiled and complete with sinks and mini cupboard for tools and apparatuses. At the back is a huge shelf filled with chemicals of every kind. Oh yeah, by now, I'm pretty sure you know what the pairings are. If you don't...

Ian and Amy.

Dan and Natalie.

Reagan and Madison.

Jonah and Angelle.

Phoenix and Keightlyn.

Hamilton... Well, Hamilton is working alone. On Sinead's orders.

"Wizard, Jonah," Sinead called, holding a flexible stick like what teachers do. "Any ideas on a Klein bottle?"

Jonah pursed his lips. "I don't suppose it has something to do with ma bratha Calvin's new cologne, does it?"

Everybody let out a groan.

Sinead's eyebrow twitched dangerously. "Not even close," she muttered.

"First described by a German mathematician by the name of Felix Klein in 1882," Ian drawled, undaunted.

"Klein bottle is a non-orientable surface, like a Mobius strip and the real projective plane," Amy continued in a small voice, writing in her notebook with her neat and swift penmanship.

"Oh! I know what a Mobius strip is," Dan piped up excitedly. "But what's that got to do with Calvin's bottle and an airplane?" he asked, totally confused.

"You embarrass me, Daniel. You really do," Natalie said.

Reagan whined. "Can't we just make things explode already?"

Madison groaned. "Yeah. Is this bottle supposed to explode?"

"I second the motion," Dan said, raising his hand.

"Continues being an embarrassment," Natalie muttered.

"Oh something is going to explode, alright," Ned said, looking amusedly at his sister. "Explode real soon," Ted noticed, also seeing that vein popping out of Sinead's forehead. Acting fast, they whipped out samples of a Klein bottle. Handmade, of course. Ned scribbled a long equation filled with Sine and Cosine and pi and the square root of two on the whiteboard. Dan's eyes skimmed the equation, then set about writing something on his and Natalie's experiment sheet.

"We will give you each a sample of this bottle. It's up to you on how you are going to reproduce something like this," Ted explained. "Either you use the formula or just use your hands." He shrugged. "Whatever, as long as you understand."

Natalie looked over at Dan's scrawls. "I hope you know what you're doing, Daniel," she told him scornfully.

"I'm the Math whiz here, aren't I?" Dan retorted without even looking at him. He was too busy solving whatever mind-boggling equation that was.

"Sure. Go ahead and brag about that," Natalie sighed. She examined the curves of the bottle. "Amazing. It's like it has no beginning or end."

"Uh-huh," Dan replied, absentmindedly. His scribbles slowly filled the entire front page.

"Oh, look!" Natalie tapped his shoulder not-so kindly, "I think I get it when they said it has two-dimensional differential manifold which is not orientable. I mean look at it!"

"Yeah. Hmm..."

"And if you tilt your head to the side," Natalie did so, still tugging on Dan's sleeve, "and squint ever so slightly." She squinted, still with her head tilted sideways. "It actually looks like two Mobius strips." She continued tugging mercilessly at his sleeve. "See? See? See?"

That was it. Dan had enough. "What is your problem? Can't you see I'm busy?" he exploded, making Natalie flinch.

Natalie gasped, shocked at Dan's outburst. "I am trying to contribute here! I am giving EDUCATED OPINION! You... you egg-head!"

"Lettuce-brain!"

"Ugly!"

"Uglier!"

"Peasant!"

"I'm as rich as you are, smart guy!"

"I don't care, very obviously not a smart guy!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Ned and Ted walked up to them. "What is going on here?"

"Blame her!"

"Blame him!"

"You little!"

"You littler!"

Ian rolled his eyes. "If it makes it any better, Amy and I are only too willing to pair with our immature siblings," he volunteered, seeking support from Amy. She nodded. Ian sighed.

"We're not immature!" Dan and Natalie yelled.

"DONE! With a capital D!" Hamilton yelled from the back of the room. "Sheesh! This is so simple! Like fixing a computer..." He glanced sheepishly at the others. "Or hacking them."

Sinead tapped her fingers on the teachers' table intolerantly. "Okay... Let me see it." She held out an impatient hand.

Hamilton walked proudly along the aisle. He presented his work like a little kid showing his mom his golden star. Sinead inspected every inch of it, leaving nothing unexamined.

"You gotta admit it is pretty good," Hamilton said, grinning hugely. His Klein bottle used a three-dimensional parameterization, which is really complicated. Sinead continued on examining it, top to bottom. She stopped when she reached the bottom.

"A," she said, point-blank.

Hamilton looked flabbergasted. _Did he really hear it right?_ "'A'? A what?" he demanded, leaning on Sinead's table.

"A." Sinead looked at him lazily. "The letter that comes before B."

Hamilton's eyes bugged out. "Not even a single 'plus'?"

"You don't deserve the plus," Sinead commented. "Shoddy workmanship. And not to mention that little thing." She looked at him pointedly.

Hamilton looked at her in disbelief. He groaned. "Fine! I'm outta here." He grabbed his bag from his seat and got ready to roughly open the door.

"Holt, Hamilton," Sinead called, making the boy stop. Hamilton turned ever so slightly. "Yeah?"

"Good for you and sure, sure I could," was all she said. Nobody understood what those words meant, but Hamilton noticeably did.

Hamilton pumped his fist in the air. "Yeah! Woohoo!" He grinned hugely at Sinead. "You know what? You can give me a D or an F. I don't care." With that, he bounded out of the room, still yelling his exhilaration.

Dan stood up, looking after Hamilton's steps. "Wait! What just happened? Isn't he supposed to be upset? I may be thirteen, but in my entire life, I can say that is not what you do or say when you're upset." He started nodding his head, making everything he said official.

Natalie pulled him roughly to make him sit. "Still continuing to be an embarrassment," she muttered, pretending not to hear Dan's wild protest and yelled curses.

"What was that about?" Ned asked, walking towards his sister. "Yeah, sis," Ted said, looking curiously at the bottle.

Sinead yawned like nothing was disturbing about the whole situation. "That's for me to know and for you to stop finding out. Is everybody done yet? Five minutes left."

And yes...

Everybody groaned.

XXxXXoXXxXx

**(dodges huge pies with cannonballs inside)**

**I know. (dodge, dodge) I know the pairings were totally cliché. (dodge, dodge) I can't help it! It was all... it was all her fault! (points at an innocent passerby) **

**My favorite part in this chapter is Jonah's brilliant answer regarding Klein bottles. *sighs* Cahills are just amazing. **

**What is Hamilton and Sinead talking about? I mean, seriously! Keep secrets much? Would come up later, I reckon. **

**QUESTION of the DAY:**

**How would you react if I put one of the characters of The Start of Train to death or a comatose? (Violent reactions allowed)**

**Oh and –**

**AngelicSpring is now offline because of certain little devils she likes to call REVIEWING FOR QUARTERLY EXAMINATIONS. **


	16. Chapter 15

**!**

**Have you stinkin' read the preview of Chapter 1 for The Medusa Plot? Oh my stinking gosh! If you haven't, READ IT. AS. IN. NOW! (continues running around the room in frantic circles) HOW COULD YOU? HOW COULD YOU! WAAH!**

**Read and Review. **

**On with the story. **

**HOW COULD YOU?**

**Enjoy 'cause that's what matters most!**

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Chapter 15: The Costume, The Sewing and The Cahills

Dan groaned and heaved as he crawled inside the Cahill manor, also known as the Cahills headquarters. "Never," he gasped, "in my entire life... have I cursed... that mall that much... in an entire day!"

Natalie was unperturbed. In fact, she had one of the best days of her stay here. "I don't know, Daniel," she said calmly. "I think that mall was in dire need of more class. I mean, have you seen a single store – a single, tiny store – of Jimmy Choos? Or Chanel? Well, I didn't! It was utter outrage!" She puffed a long breath out, sounding a lot like someone who had the world in her hands. "Good thing there was Prada though. Or else..."

Amy and the others came in a rush, welcoming them back.

Dan shot his sister a death glare. "Oh look. Here's the genius who asked me to come with dumb Natalie to the... _mall_," he breathed the last word out like it was some kind of mysterious criminal. Which he considered true.

Ian grinned, clearly enjoying Dan's sufferings. _Finally! Someone who understood his pains! At least someone gets to suffer the same fate as he did. _To make it clear, he never did like shopping. That was for his sister. Sure, he liked costume-made clothing, but he never had to go around looking for them. All it takes is a single phone call._ Matters stand though, when your dear sister asks... oh sorry, orders you to come with her. _"So... How did it go? Did you have fun?" he asked innocently, but to Dan, his words sounded a lot sarcastic.

"I hate you," Dan hissed back.

This made Ian grin wider. "I know, Daniel."

Amy had this worried look on her face. "What happened? Dan, you seem awfully tired."

"Aw, ya think?" he growled sarcastically. Dan pointed accusingly at Natalie. "You told me we were only going to shop for fabric. For our costumes." Dan clutched Amy's legs pleadingly. "But did you know what that _monster_ did to me? She made me enter every living store in that mall. And carry all her bags!" Dan looked at Amy with wide, terrified eyes. "She. Is. Not. Human!" Dan gasped, saying the words like _I see dead people. _

Natalie was too busy showing the others the fabrics she and Dan have bought for their costumes. "We even found this absolutely gorgeous black silk for Hamilton. It's absolutely perfect for the Knight, don't you think?" The others _oohed_ and _aahed_ at all the textiles in their midst. Why, it was enough to dress up an entire kingdom! "I think Amy should wear a red velvet dress with gold trimmings. It brings her eyes out more and would make her look absolutely regal," Natalie prattled on and on about how perfect each fabric corresponds to each of the Cahills. "The Pawns which would be Ned, Ted, Reagan, Madison, Angelle and Keightlyn," she eyed them and they waved back, "would wear purple."

Ned and Ted high-fived. "Sweeet!" They looked at each other meaningfully. "You know what this means, don't you?" Ned asked his twin. Ted nodded. "We could look like Barney!" they yelled together. Ted pointed at his stomach. "We could place a huge green spot right over here," he described, smiling goofily. "And little green spots on our behinds," Ned agreed, his eyes shining at the beautiful picture.

Sinead's vein on her forehead popped. "Forgive my brothers' stupidity," she muttered, rolling a thick magazine she was reading a while ago into a thick and hard cylindrical shape. She began chasing Ned and Ted around the living room with it.

"Purple," Reagan and Madison beamed. "That's cool."

Keightlyn smiled at Natalie. "You really have everything planned out, don't you? Can I help with the sewing?"

"Of course you could!" Natalie towed her in the living room, ignoring the Starlings turning-wild brawl. She began planning designs with Keightlyn.

"If you'll excuse me," Dan said, still ticked off at the events of his day. "I'll go into my room and remove these visible germs in me which are from stupid, dumb Natalie." He stomped upstairs, grumbling about how unfair life is and how stupid global warming is.

"I knew we shouldn't have asked them to pair up and go to the mall," Amy sighed, looking after her brother.

Ian, however, did not see anything wrong with it. "I think it went well. They fulfilled their objective, so..." He shrugged good-naturedly. He was still feeling pretty proud of himself for putting Dan in his shoes.

Amy scowled at him. "If I didn't know, you probably wanted to make Dan suffer the same fate as you do everyday with Natalie," she said in a low voice.

Ian flinched at the truth of her words. He bluffed it with a chuckle. "What are you talking about? Is it bad for me to desire a quality time for Daniel and Natalie?"

Amy gave him an exasperated look.

"You don't believe me?" Ian feigned being hurt.

"Quality time? Dan? And Natalie?" Amy rolled her eyes. "You think I can believe that? Honestly?"

Ian sighed and raised his hands in surrender. "Okay, fine. You caught me red-handed. But with the two of them together, nobody would think that they are capable of destroying an entire shopping market. They look... innocent. At least, innocent-ish," he amended when he saw Amy shooting him another exasperated glare. "I strategically thought of it." He nodded appreciatively at his own cleverness.

"Have you actually looked at Dan lately? Look at him again and tell me that he doesn't look capable of destroying an entire mall." Amy sighed, too. Hers was a sign of defeat. What's done is done anyway.

"Oh, lighten up." Ian chuckled again. "You worry too much. Isn't it the King's job to take all the Queen's worries away?" he joked.

Amy did not get the joking part. She blushed profusely, looking like a newly-harvested cherry tomato. "Y-You really g-got a kn-knack for ru-ruining the mo-moment, do-don't you?" she stammered, her voice back to the Amy-is-talking-to-Ian-Kabra mode. She quickly made her way towards the others in the living room.

Ian sighed regretfully, watching her go. "What did I do this time?" he asked in bewilderment. "And when I finally got her to talk to me without that oh-so-famous stutter." He smirked like the self-centered guy that he was. "Then again, teasing her is the most fun activity in this household." He chuckled loudly, making Phoenix Wizard stare at him. Ian followed the others to the living room.

"Nobody is sane in this place anymore," Phoenix noted. Then his eyes suddenly widened and he gasped when the realization hit him. "Now I'm talking to myself, too!"

XXxXXoXXxXx

"Hold still, Daniel!" Natalie snapped. The pin slipped out of her fingers.

"Ow!" Dan yelped, jumping out of Natalie's reach. "You did that on purpose, didn't you? You little witch!"

Natalie poked him again with the pin, making Dan flinch in pain again. "That," she growled, "was on purpose. The former was because you were being such an immature loser. Now hold still."

Hamilton shoved a handful of popcorn in his mouth. "I don't know 'bout you guys, but this movie is pretty interesting."

All of them except for Dan and Natalie watched the scene playing out in front of them. Natalie and Dan had been going about this fight for nearly an hour now. Dan can't just find it in him to stay still while Natalie takes his measurements. He keeps on wriggling out of her grasp, making the girl stick pins on his now sore skin. Actually, Hamilton and the others are already on their second batch of popcorn.

Natalie growled for the ninth time. "Daniel, I swear," she purred near his ear, making Dan shiver, "if you move one more time..." She smirked evilly. "You will feel more than these pins sticking out of your skin."

Dan flinched. He knew Natalie could do her threats exactly as she tells them. "Just move faster already," he muttered, closing his eyes.

A little shuffling and... "Done!" Natalie beamed. She rested both hands on her hips. "That was not hard, now was it?"

Dan muttered unintelligible things under his breath.

"Aww!" The others groaned, seeing their source of amusement gone with the wind. They also lost a reason to go get more popcorn.

XXxXXoXXxXx

Tomas Classes.

"Sometimes to win, you need to sacrifice," Hamilton was saying. He donned his purple tracksuit, very much like what his twin sisters, Reagan and Madison, are wearing.

"No pain, no gain," Reagan and Madison declared, grinning hugely.

"Lucians agree," Natalie piped up, stretching every muscle she has just like the others. "We had to sacrifice only too much for us to be who we are now."

Dan snickered, preparing to say something really intelligent. "And what are you supposed to be now? Rich, egotistical, pushy, mon –"

"Dan, zip it!" Amy snapped, whacking him upside the head.

"Am I being annoying yet?" Dan asked innocently.

Ian rolled his eyes. "Aren't you always?"

Dan scowled at him. "Get off my case, Cobra."

Hamilton grimaced at the immaturity of his students. "As I was saying," he cut in pointedly, "you have to be prepared to do everything for your team. Your team is more important than you. Remember that. To be part of a team, you need to know how to actually care for each and every one of its members. I know you think the Tomas branch is nothing but brutal people." Hamilton grinned. "But we care for our team, too. More than anybody else, I should say. Knowing that we're part of a team, makes us stronger, makes us fight."

All of them were silent, pondering on this deep, unusual statement.

Reagan glanced at his brother curiously. "That wasn't on the script," she noted thoughtfully.

Hamilton sighed. "No, it was not," he replied. "But Amy and Angelle insisted that we put a 'Madrigal feel' to our lessons."

Jonah tugged at Angelle's ponytail. "Yeah, I mean how's that s'posed to go? You should not sculpt just because you want to smash the marble on your enemies head, but because blah, blah, blah."

Dan held up a hand. "You could also smash the sculpture into your supposedly teammate." He grinned sweetly at Natalie. His girl counterpart gagged.

Angelle flicked Jonah's hand away. "What about that touching lesson you told me about last night? The one that goes, 'Art comes in –'"

Jonah clasped a hand to muffle whatever she was going to say. "Don't! If you spoil them the details, I'll have to make another moral. And do you know how long that takes me? Two WHOLE days."

Ned and Ted were thoughtful. "I want to bicker with someone, too," Ned told his brother. "Me too," Ted replied sullenly. Suddenly, they grinned. "Bicker, bicker, bicker," they yelled gleefully. "Bicker, bicker, BICKER!" Sinead eyed his brothers' new stupidity.

"Just give me ten laps around the field," Hamilton said dejectedly. He had enough of his students' antics. "Then pair up and give me twenty bull's-eyes on the archery targets."

"Go, go, go, go!" Reagan and Madison bellowed, using lungs that ARE NOT from thirteen-year-olds.

The Cahills ran as fast as they could, grumbling about how their Tomas cousins are so merciless.

XXxXXoXXxXx

Madrigal Lessons. Home Economics.

"Look at my perfect hands," Natalie whined. "They're ruined!" She stomped her foot whiningly. "This is all the Holts fault! And their _brilliant_ archery lesson!"

Dan cringed at the sound of her shrieks so close to his ears. "They looked horrible from the beginning anyway. So you've got nothing to lose," he said matter-of-factly.

Natalie chased him around the manor with the scissors.

"I-Ian, what a-are you d-doing?" Amy spluttered, looking in horror at what Ian is doing.

Ian looked up at her with wide, innocent amber eyes. "I think I am sewing."

Amy puffed an exasperated breath out. How long was he supposed to say that? From her point of view, that is MOST DEFINITELY NOT sewing. "Then why," she started, "are you stitching the whole thing in the wrong direction?" She pointed at his crooked line of stitching. "The stitching is supposed to be on the back of the costume. The pockets should be on the chest part, not the stomach part."

Ian bit his lip. _It's not his fault nobody taught him how to sew. How was he supposed to know that buttons are supposed to be on one side only and the other side should be gaping holes? How was he supposed to know that you should sew in straight lines? Or that someone could, for that matter? How was he supposed to know which part is at the back or the front? How was he supposed to know that the pockets are not supposed to be on 'the stomach part' like what kangaroos have? He has always been fond of kangaroos._ Ian looked up at Amy again, this time a lot sheepishly. "Kangaroos," was all he said.

Amy looked confused for a moment and then she frowned. She's already immune to random things being blurted out randomly by equally random people. She has Dan for a brother after all. "You-You're ho-hopeless," Amy sighed, taking a pair of scissors and cutting everything Ian so _cleverly_ made. Ian watched what she was doing keenly.

"Ned and Ted Starling! For the last time! You are not allowed to put green spots anywhere on your costumes!" Sinead yelled at the top of her lungs, glaring intensely at her brothers' handiwork.

Hamilton growled suddenly. "I beat up every single moron in the planet who insults me," he said through gritted teeth. "And the only thing that could actually make me draw blood is this stupid, stinkin' needle! Curse this blasted thing!"

Jonah held his costume at arm's length. "I think I did pretty great." He nodded appreciatively at his new found skill. "Who knew I'm this great at making clothes?"

"Self-centered idiot," Angelle muttered under her breath. She snatched Jonah's costume away from him. She examined it. She frowned at him. "Even though the Bishop you're portraying is not, like, a Catholic Bishop," she grimaced. "I don't think the Bishop is supposed to have a 'peace' bling at the back of his habit." She pointed disgustedly at the shining diamond print of the peace sign behind Jonah's costume.

"Honey, I totally have this thing covered. I breathe bling," Jonah said, grinning superiorly.

Angelle rolled her eyes. "You're still pretty much the Mr. Jonah I-lost-my-blue-teddy-bear-now-I-can't-go-to-camp Wizard to me," she said smarmily, smirking.

Jonah gasped in annoyance. "Mr. Blue Bear is an important material to _the_ Jonah Wizard. Don't bring him in this conversation. Word."

Phoenix and Keightlyn silently eyed all their relatives. "I feel sorry for our future grandcousins," Phoenix whispered glumly.

"Grandcousins?" Keightlyn whispered back.

Phoenix nodded, his face serious and devoid of any humor. Like a senator at a very critical congress. "Yes. The children of our dear cousins here," he gestured grandly at all their 'cousins'. "I mean, Ian and Amy are, like, _fated_ to be together. Hamilton and Sinead would _probably_ be together. They could be, if they weren't such big dense people. My idiot cousin and Angelle are practically _tied_ by that 'red string of fate'." Everything he said sounded a lot weird, especially coming from a twelve-year-old kid. But Keightlyn took everything he said in, actually thinking that he made sense.

Reagan and Madison, being near to the two conversing twelve-year-olds, overheard their conversation. "Hammy and girl Starling?" Madison asked. "Where'd you get that?"

Regan poked her sister. "It's obvious, Maddy. Hammy likes girl Starling, even though he won't admit it. Didn't he spend an entire night –"

Madison slammed her palm on her forehead. "Oh yeah! And he felt really guil –"

"Exactly!" Reagan looked meaningfully at her twin. This is going to be fun.

Ned and Ted decided to barge in their conversation. "Whoa, wait! We heard girl Starling and Hamilton and like," Ned said suspiciously. "Yeah. What is that about?" Ted slung an arm over his twin's shoulder.

"I'm going to kill you, Natalie Kabra!" Dan yelled from somewhere in the house.

"Let's see you try, shall we, Daniel?" came the scathing reply.

The Cahills.

XXxXXoXXxXx

**And done! Whew. That is pretty lame. Nothing much happened. So I'll probably upload tomorrow. I want to. And I desperately need to. My deadline is coming up. It's AUGUST! **

**And according to what I've read with The Medusa Plot (again with the HOW COULD YOU?) and The King's Ransom, my story won't do well with both of them. Because apparently they weren't saved yet. Whew. So, just don't mind it. This story will remain independent then. Waah! It's just so confusing. I'll probably have to remove the 'SET AFTER THE MEDUSA...' thingy. So yeah. **

**Have you seen Amy and Dan from the latest Cahill mission? If you haven't... Do I really need to tell you what to do?**

**So I've received very INTERESTING replies from my question about the death/coma thing. Haha. And I was like, Oh no. Change of plot. So there. Whew. I hope I make the ending to your liking. **

**QUESTION of the DAY:**

**Which would you prefer for The Start of Train: A. Have a sequel; B. Just be The Start of Train. Period. Nothing else; or C. Hard to tell. **

**And why.**

**I'll probably ask the same question again. So...**

**Read and Review, guys!**

**~ASpring will hopefully be able to upload tomorrow. If it wasn't for the torture of studying for PHYSICS. Oooohh...**


	17. Chapter 16

**Love cannot live where there is no trust. (Cupid/Eros)**

**Go Cupid and Psyche! You rock!**

**Evan Tolliver... (words will never be enough to describe my utter loathing)**

**Physics, why do you torture me that much? What have I ever done to you?**

**Math, why can't I understand how to find the Domain and Range? Have I wronged you?**

**ASpring, why are you still typing your fingers away? WHEN YOU SHOULD BE REVIEWING FOR YOUR QUARTERLY EXAMINATION ON PHYSICS!**

**Well, my inner thoughts just screamed at me so go and read and enjoy. 'Cause that's what matters most.**

XXxXXoXXxXx

Chapter 16: The Product, The Nightmare and The Constellation

"You gotta admit, we look pretty spankin'," Jonah whistled at the sight of him wearing a Bishop's clothes. Without the peace bling. His white habit looked especially immaculate with a wide cream-colored belt around the waist. On the left chest part, their Cahill batch's crest gleamed. Instead of angry looking animals – snake, bear, dragon, wolf – they all worked together to make it more meaningful, depicting their new found and still improving friendship. All of their costumes have the crest in them. Sinead made the meaning, Jonah drew whatever it is she commanded and Ian proceeded on facilitating the meeting in what colors to put. Frankly, Ian got the worst end of the bargain with Dan and Natalie there. Enough said.

"I look good in purple," Angelle commented, twirling around. The other pawns murmured their agreement. Except for two.

"It would've," Ned sulked, crossing his arms over his chest. "If we had put our green spots," Ted supplied, looking as whiny as his brother.

Sinead threw her hands in the air exasperated. "Will you give up with the green spots thing already?" she demanded. She eyed the purple dress of the girls (Keightlyn matching it with black leggings), and her brothers and Phoenix' lavender top and magenta bottoms. The crest stood out from all the purple.

Natalie smiled proudly at her own reflection. "I look perfect. As usual," she smirked. Her puffy beige-and-gold, long-sleeved flowing dress complemented her dark skin. The long sleeves hugged her arms perfectly, the ends which hid her slender hands are conical in structure. The ends of her dress were ruffles. A huge white ribbon is tied neatly on the chest part, giving a historical feel. And of course, the tiara. Don't forget the diamond-studded tiara.

"These itch," Dan grumbled, tugging helplessly at the collar of his Prince costume. "Stupid." As Amy, Sinead and Angelle gushed hours ago, Dan looked pretty cute. Handsome, too, if he could turn that grumpy frown upside down. He screamed when he thought he would be wearing tights, so Natalie had to work extra hard. This got Dan a hundred smacks on the head from her. Dan is now the proud owner of a long-sleeved cerulean coattail on top of a white turtle neck with an ascot tie, like the one that men used to wear during the Victorian era.

Nobody would admit but they look... Well, they look... I mean... You know what I mean, don't you?

Natalie glared at him. "You're stupid."

Amy bit her lip hard. She wasn't exactly sure on what to comment on her costume. It's a full length velvet and brocade light red ball gown. Inside is a hoop petticoat (to make things pretty and fluffy, according to Natalie). The gown is off-shoulders, like what Belle from Beauty and the Beast had. Amy donned a black, jewelled choker (something that Ian _miraculously_ whipped out of nowhere).

"I dunno," Hamilton said, looking down at his black-and-bronze costume, complete with metal armor and helmet. Hamilton also wears a cape, black on the outside and bronze on the inside. The cape is pinned down by ruby gems, the whole top ending like a long shirt. He pairs it with black pants. "I look pretty... shiny," he decided.

Ian was seated - looking all bored - at the far corner of the living room, looking disdainfully at his cousins. He was asked, then commanded and finally forcefully put into his King costume. From Amy's point of view, Ian looked like a bratty young King. With the head rested on his palm, the passive expression on his face, and just like a royalty, without the slouch. Ian sighed wincingly at all of them. He caught Amy's stare. Ian offered her a sincere smile. Knowing that Amy would start looking down at her feet, he looked away, glaring at the others.

His thin gold crown hung lopsided on his head, a proof that he couldn't care less. He is wearing a white military style jacket – a color that stood out from his skin - with epaulets (the decoration you always see on royalties' shoulders), military belt (from Hamilton), brown slacks, and a jacquard sash. Pinned on the pocket (now on the chest part, not the stomach part, thanks to Amy), is the medal version of the Cahill crest.

"You should stand from there and see if the costume has a perfect fit, you know," a quiet voice from beside him said.

Ian looked up, knowing full well who it was. He smirked. "Are you commanding me, my queen?" His British accent made everything he said regal. Amy hates to admit it, but Ian really does look like a King. He even acts like one, too.

Amy cleared her throat. "I-I'm not co-commanding you," she protested quickly. "I-I was ju-just –"

Ian smirked at her. "I know," he said slowly. "I was just teasing. Can't help it." He shrugged as if that made any sense. Out of the blue, he sighed wearily. This caught Amy's eye. As she studied Ian's features closely, she saw light signs of circles under his eyes.

"Painting income low lately?" Amy asked, her compassionate side taking over before she could even think of being embarrassed.

"Tolerably low, I guess." Another off-handed shrug.

Amy kept silent. What was she supposed to say after that anyway?

Ian chuckled softly. "Do I look that horrible, love?" He looked up at her expectantly.

Amy's teeth came crashing down her lip. "No-Not really."

Ian chuckled, then his features changed into to a thoughtful one. "What do you do when you get strange ni – dreams?" he asked suddenly.

Amy looked startled for a minute. She paused to think. What would make him ask something like that? "I... uh... I," she started, unsure of what she was going to say. "Sometimes, I tell Dan. It's a crazy thought, but it helps a lot."

Ian took all of that in, nodding deliberately. "I'm not sure I could tell Natalie. That would be... disastrous." He laughed. "Perhaps, I could tell you then."

Amy staggered back. In her mind. Because that would look stupid if she actually did that. "Su-Sure."

Ian drew out a long, heavy breath. _How to start...?_ "I've been having this peculiar dream. Ever since Holt accepted that challenge." He looked at Amy's expression which remained confused and thoughtful. Amy nodded encouragingly. "It's not about the game. I did not dream of a huge chess board or anything. As I've said, it's peculiar. More peculiar than that," he said dejectedly. How he hated not knowing.

"The Vespers, then?" Amy suggested apprehensively. She started twirling her hair nervously like everytime she is faced with a tensed situation.

Ian shook his head. "No. It's like a part of my... past, you can say." He gave her a tired smile. "Is that weird enough for you yet?"

"Not really," Amy replied. "I've had dreams about my past before. Like with my parents. The Clue hunt. The fire." She stopped, thinking that she said something wrong or offending.

"I suppose you dreamt about my mother a lot, too," Ian said with a sad smile. "Anyway, Isabel is there, too. In my dreams. Her striking red hair appears every so often and then... And then the weird part comes." Amy waited, holding her breath without her realizing it. "There's this kid..." Ian breathed doubtfully.

Amy exhaled. "A kid? Natalie?"

"I thought about that," Ian said, his amber eyes suddenly darker. "But the kid is the same age and height and physical structure as me. At least it looks like it," he added hastily.

"A childhood friend?" she suggested.

Ian shook his head ruefully. "I've never been one who has friends that last forever. More so when I was a child." He groaned. "I hate not knowing."

Amy looked at him, slightly pitiful. "Were you doing anything in your dream? That could help," she said.

"A bird," he answered immediately. "That's all I can remember. A blue bird. A blue canary. I don't even know what we're doing with it." Ian grimaced. "That does not help one bit, does it?"

They looked at each other, unable to answer any of the questions.

"Hey!" Hamilton called, breaking their bonded reverie. "We're having our review and training for the game. Come with?"

Dan stomped angrily towards Amy and tugged roughly at her arm. "Let's go, you blue canary bird," he growled at her, glaring at Ian. Natalie watched the two Cahills leave and glanced at her brother questioningly. Ian gave her a subtle shake of his head.

"Blue canary bird," Ned and Ted snickered which earned them a head-ringing smack from their sister.

"Seriously," Sinead muttered, ignoring the dirty looks her brothers are giving her.

XXxXXoXXxXx

A week before the Human Chess.

Hamilton weighed his improved shield with his hands. "Are you sure this puny little shield could do everything you said?" He looked over at Sinead.

Sinead sighed. "Yes, Holt. Push the red button and it will become a shield that can deflect anything, from bullets to stones to poisonous dart guns," she eyed the Kabras warily. "Push the blue button and the sides of your shield will produce a wide array of blades, from short ones to really long ones."

Hamilton grimaced and looked at his shield and back to Sinead. "You are unbelievable."

"I've been told." Sinead shrugged.

"All I know is that you should be my fashion designer from now on," Jonah said, running his fingers through the fabric of his shirt. "This baby is bullet-proof and blade-proof and fire-proof and water-proof and all that proofiness but it feels light. This is tight!"

Angelle sniffed at Jonah's way with words. "Proofiness?" She snickered. "And are you being a poet again, Wizard? Rhyming your words like that?"

Jonah childishly stuck a tongue out at her. "Jealous meanie."

"I'm just glad that _finally_," Dan said, grinning down at the insides of his coattail, "someone understands my need for _shuriken_."

Ned and Ted nodded at their masterpiece. "Be thankful, Dan," Ned said, clapping the thirteen-year-old on the shoulder. "We specially designed your costume to conceal any weapon." Ted grinned at him from ear to ear.

Dan pursed his lips. "How about food? Can it conceal food?"

"I, for one, am just glad that my dress will be far from tearing-disaster's way," Natalie commented, feeling the same 'proofiness' fabric that Jonah has.

Ian smirked. "I must say, Starling," he tugged at his costume. "I am impressed. All my weapons are amazingly intact."

The triplets smirked back at him. "We are Ekats, aren't we? And Starlings are always right," they said altogether.

"But, honestly," Amy smiled. "You guys are amazing. I mean, tinkering with our costumes so that they could produce a weapon of our choice. They can't even be detected by metal detectors. Making all our costumes bullet, water, fire, blade and poison-proof. It's sheer genius." Amy grinned disbelievingly at her cousins. She can't even believe that these three are related to her.

"We won't be able to do it if everybody didn't pitch in," Sinead said meekly, something that she has not done in quite a while.

"That's true," Ned agreed. "If the Kabras did not tell us the main components of every deadly poison in the world, we won't be able to make something to deflect it."

"If the Holts did not tell us all we need to know about bullets and blades, we won't be able to make something to 'proof' them," Ted said.

"And besides," Sinead said, her voice sounding strangely weak. "We might need all the protection we can get."

That made all of them quiet. The weight of their actions is coming on them harder than ever. Wearing their costumes for the second time with numerous and deadly accessories to them is like feeling the whisper of a bad omen near them.

"I'm scared," Keightlyn admitted.

Jonah ruffled her hair fondly. "I admire this little girl. She's the only one who can say the truth when all of us can't."

"A true Madrigal, indeed," Ian murmured, noticing the slight uneasiness of his sister from his peripheral vision.

"We'll be fine," Dan said reassuringly, roughly slapping Natalie's shoulder. This made the girl gasp for breath unceremoniously and stagger forwards.

Natalie's eyes glinted in utter murder. "You might want to start running for your oh-so-done-for life, Daniel," she purred in a sinister way.

Dan smirked, crossing his arms challengingly across his chest. "You're wearing five to six-inches high heels," he grinned tauntingly, knowing that he would win. "There's no way that you could run after me."

Natalie looked like she has been slapped and insulted. "I'm sorry, but have we met?" she said sarcastically. "I am Natalie Kabra, Mother of all Stilettos." It was now her turn to smirk when Dan realized what she just said.

"Aw, n –" Dan said, paling and backing out of the living room.

"Oh yes." Natalie nodded sardonically, her 'Lucian-ness' lighting up her thirteen-year-old features. "Run, run, poor, little, dead Daniel."

And around the Cahill manor they went.

"I hate agreeing with Dan, but," Amy sighed, looking at all of their incredulous faces apologetically. "We will be alright."

For once, they desperately grabbed on a wavering fact.

XXxXXoXXxXx

Hamilton gazed out at the starry horizon. He sat alone at the grass field of the Cahill manor, alone and undisturbed.

_What would Dad do?_ he thought sadly. _What would he do if he had endangered his team's life?_

He looked up at the sky, hoping that somehow his dad could hear him. Now that they found out that they couldn't contact anybody from outside the manor, how could he possibly ask him for advice?

See, that's the hard thing about being 'the tough guy'. You can never be just 'the guy'. You always, _always_ have to be the brave one, the bold one, the one who takes risk. He's lucky his parents approved of him joining the Computer team. But still, in that club, he still appears as the 'tough guy'. Sometimes, all he wants is to be normal.

"That's the Greek Cassiopeia you're looking at," someone from behind him said. "Is that supposed to be symbolical or something?"

Hamilton chuckled. "I don't even know who in the world she is." He patted the grass a few feet away from him. "You wanna stay for awhile, Starling?"

"Wouldn't kill, I guess." Sinead sat.

They were silent for a full ten minutes. The silence was not awkward, but rather peaceful. Maybe there really are words which are better left unsaid.

Hamilton cleared his throat. "What were you saying about that Casswho person?"

"Cassiopeia," Sinead corrected. "She's Greek. In Greek, her name means 'she whose words excel'."

"'She whose words excel'. Huh." Hamilton gazed at the collection of stars up above which he once thought were random.

Sinead frowned slightly, trying to remember her story. "She was a vain and proud and arrogant queen. That led to her downfall. She was boastful about her and her daughter's beauty which made Poseidon furious."

"Poseidon," Hamilton said. "The sea god?"

Sinead nodded, her auburn hair which is tied into its familiar ponytail swayed with the slight breeze. "She consulted the Oracle who told them that the only way to appease the sea gods was to sacrifice her daughter. The daughter, however, was saved by Perseus just in time and they were instantly married. Long story short, Cassiopeia was tied to a chair high in the heavens as a torture because Poseidon did not think that she should not escape punishment. That's why her constellation," she pointed up, making Hamilton look at whatever she's pointing at. "Resembles that of a chair. The symbol of torture."

"Tough luck for her," Hamilton murmured, seeing the connection with his life. He wondered whether Sinead told the story because she is blaming him too. The possibilities are positive.

Sinead shrugged. "She has her flaws. Everybody does. It's up to us whether we'll accept it, though."

"It doesn't look like she did," Hamilton commented.

"That's why she was punished," Sinead replied. "Everything became too late for her."

"At least she did not put other people's lives on the line." Hamilton sighed, not anymore resisting the urge to make the implication with his own life.

Sinead kept quiet. So that's what it was. Again, they were engulfed by a brief moment of silence.

"Better late than never," Sinead murmured.

Hamilton looked questioningly at her.

Sinead continued looking at Cassiopeia. "If you know you did something unchangeable... It's your choice whether you'll do something about it. You could let it be and let the apologies make everything better. Or, you could think of something and make it better yourself, rather than relying on chance." She shrugged. "Matter of choice, I guess."

Hamilton knew Sinead is always wordy and can't limit her explanations with just one sentence, but somehow he understood what she was trying to say. "Huh," he said. "It's like that saying, 'Fall down once, stand up a million times'."

"Yeah," Sinead agreed, yawning slightly. "Fall and stand up. Humans are not known for giving up. They stand up each time they fall and do better than they ever did before."

The cold night wind passed by, making Sinead shiver involuntarily. She sighed. "I should go," she said, standing up. She brushed the dirt and grass off her clothes. "We have Lucian classes tomorrow."

Hamilton groaned. "Oh yeah. I haven't done my homework yet!" He slapped his forehead. Then he looked up at Sinead hopefully. "You think the Kabras would give me a chance?"

"I say your chance is an all-night work on that assignment." Sinead smirked.

XXxXXoXXxXx

**I so feel Hamilton's pains regarding school work. Ugh. It's not like I have a choice. **

**I love Greek mythology. I mean, don't you? It's so... rich in literary culture (peels eyes off of English hand-outs). When we finished the Iliad I was like, Whoa! E-E-E-P-I-C! Let's do that again! Just kidding. **

**And now we have a speaking test, somewhat like an impromptu speech. We get to pick a question regarding Greek myths and answer them. Simple, right? WRONG! But anyhoo, I enjoyed reading some especially Pygmalion and Galatea. And Orpheus and Eurydice. For Orpheus and Eurydice, one of the guide questions is WHAT SONG WOULD BEST FIT THEIR STORY? What do you think?**

**QUESTION of the DAY:**

**Are you saving up for the coming of Medusa Plot and King's Ransom? What do you want to do now that you have read the first chapter of Medusa Plot? (If you haven't read the excerpt...) **

**Read and Review. Muchas Gracias!**

**Well. Till next week then. **

**See ya when I see ya.**

**ASpring is out and about, wondering what to put on her twenty-first century god made of recycled materials. **


	18. Chapter 17

**Missed me?**

***gleeful crickety sounds***

**Ookaay... Awkward... Here it goes - *takes one huge, deep breath* I'm SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SORRY! It's been, what, two weeks? Going three?**

***sighs* I have to thank ****SlytherinGurrl****. You know why and I really appreciate the encouragement. :) Thank you so much. Anyways, this chapter is dedicated for you. **

**I hope this 'pretty' long chapter makes up for those long days I was not around. **

**DISCLAIMER: No. **

**Read on and on. Because this story is never going to be ON HIATUS. **

xXxXXoXXxXx

Chapter 17: XX THE DAY XX

Sunlight poured inside his room, making everything luminescent. On a normal day, he would've destroyed everything that got in his way just because of this innocent sunshine. But not today. Not today.

He simply tugged at the curtains, making the heavy velvet fall with a swift thud. The sunlight vanished as quickly as it came. The dark room made it impossible to see his expression. His grip tightened at the warm, fuzzy fabric.

_I can't believe it._

_I can't believe it._

_Years and years of waiting have resulted to this day. _

_The day when I erase the most popular batch of the Cahills from existence. _

His lip curled upwards at the revolting thought.

_Most popular batch of the Cahills. Pathetic._

His grip on the curtain is now so tight that he could feel his nails digging on his palm through the thick velvet. His nostrils flared as he remembered what the Council of Six said on their last meeting.

"_Those young varmints are sneakier than we thought they'd be," the first man - The Spymaster - said. _

_The second one - The Shield - rested his brooding face on top of his intertwined fingers. "They even managed to throw off one of our best agents to prison."_

'_Damien' clenched his fingers at the commentary. He knows who they were referring to. That woman. _

_The third man - The Leader - glanced at the young man, noticing his sudden change of aura. "How is that little 'machine' of yours going, boy?"_

_The 'boy' looked sharply up at him. He hated it when he called him that. He's sixteen, for Vesper's sake! 'Damien' didn't respond. He simply gave him a thin smile. _

"_Same attitude, of course," the fourth man - The Scientist - said, laughing amusedly. _

_The fifth one - The Manipulator - nodded, chuckling to himself. "I wonder if your brother inherited the same traits," he mused, smiling wickedly. _

'_Damien' slammed his fists on the wooden table. "I do not have a brother!" he exploded, not thinking about the fact that the five people could kill him in five seconds flat. He - The Enforcer - left the room furiously, pretending that he cannot hear the laughter behind him. _

"Well," Hamilton started, knowing that none of his dear relatives are in the mood to speak. "They have a huge helicopter."

Natalie scrunched her nose in disgust, clearly unimpressed. "I bet the seats are all itchy."

Dan simply rubbed his stomach like a panda, which makes complete sense because all of them stayed up late to watch Kung Fu Panda 2. "Chips," he said, still doing his lazy rubbing, "I'm in it for the chips."

Amy rolled her eyes, resisting the growing urge to punch him on the arm. "Sure, Dan," she said sarcastically. "Eat those chips, why don't you? And then when you're mouth starts spouting out bubbly froth, we'll know that the Vespers are trying to kill us before we even get there."

Ian looked up at the sky. "At long last. Somebody who has enough sense," he murmured.

Angelle cleared her throat and began speaking in a loud voice. "Okay! Everybody be with your partners or group mates –" huge groaning from people, namely Dan/Natalie, "- And be on your best behaviour."

Jonah looked at her disbelievingly. "We're all about to die and all you care is good behaviour? What kind of a mother are you?"

"A rational one," Angelle retorted. "Now, go, go, go. Bring your things with you. And no, you twins, you can't try spitting over the edge. Have some respect for the people below."

"Aww..."

xXxXXoXXxXx

"You look... agitated, Damien," commented the very same black-haired girl that he last conversed with.

Damien stopped his pacing. He glanced sharply at his team. They were a total of five people. The black-haired girl, 'Veronica' we shall say, is leaning on their 'meeting' table, looking amusedly at him and also a little bored.

Another girl – let us call her 'Jasmine' -, two or three years younger than Damien and his colleague, looked up at them timidly, clutching her sketch pad like a shield. Her huge, innocent eyes roamed around the room, not quite sure what she was doing here. All she knows is that, her parents wanted her and her 'talent' here.

A boy, who sat as far away from the black-haired girl as possible, rolled his eyes. He, 'Victor', is the twin of 'Veronica' and apparently he had had enough of his sister's and Damien's relentless bickering. In front of him, paper after paper after another are filled with trap designs. _Sensor-activated alarm, deep underground_, he wrote slowly.

Another young man, the same age as 'Jasmine ' - who we shall call 'Anthony' - remained passive. His face was void of any emotion, a chasm of endless darkness. His features are permanently etched into a sadistic look. An eyebrow slightly raised which looked demanding, tight set of lips, dangerous glint in his onyx eyes. A pity. He would've looked quite the angel if he's not born in the world of killing.

Better yet, all of them would look a lot better, if they were not born in the world of killing. If they were not born as Vespers.

Damien plastered a fake smile on his otherwise handsome face. "I am not agitated, my dear. Just... anxious, I suppose. Anxious excited, I mean," he added.

'Veronica' raised her eyebrows. She tossed her head back in laughter. "Riiight," she said, gasping for breath. The others, save for her brother, kept their familiar expressions. 'Victor' rolled his eyes some more.

'Victor' cleared his throat pointedly. "So the meeting with those old geezers went well, then?" he asked, checking Damien's expression.

The question struck a nerve. Damien's face changed in the littlest possible way. "Let us not get started on them, shall we?" he said pleasantly, but something told them nothing is pleasant.

"Which means no-o-o," Victoria said in a sing-song voice. "Everything went horrible, as usual," she continued in that annoying singing voice she has.

She quickly ducked her head.

The others gasped, even her brother and that passive kid.

Jasmine's eyes started to water.

Like lightning, like a viper, Damien broke a window pane and flung the shard at Victoria.

Victor stood up brusquely. "Hey, you!" Actually, there were a lot of colorful words after _you_ that oddly rhymed with kicking and sick. He looked ready to smash Damien's face into a pulp.

Victoria held up a hand. "Don't." Instead of fear, her eyes shone happily. "They probably mentioned your twin brother, didn't they? That got you going as usual." She laughed, not even thinking that there is still one more shard left hanging on the broken window. She eyed him suspiciously. "Are you really ready to s-" she trailed off, seeing what her colleague is doing.

Damien took the last shard in his hand. He clutched at it. Blood droplets fell on the pristine white carpet. "I'm ready to kill him," he growls, digging the shard deeper in his palm.

xXxXXoXXxXx

"Ian..."

Ian Kabra rarely falls into a very deep slumber. Usually, just the slightest of pressure wakes him up. Try poking him the tippy tip of a feather.

_Stay alert_, his parents always tell him.

So it was a bit of a shock for him when he heard his name being called, but his eyes are not responding. He was still stuck in that black nothingness.

"Ian...?"

There he was again. First thing will be the sunny atmosphere, then the grass and that weird big tree. Everything felt so real that he could almost feel the tingling sensation of the strangely warm sun, the tickling of the grass beneath his feet (again, very odd) and the smell of nature around him. He was small again, everything seemed so big. He was sure he was not fourteen or sixteen. He was too... little.

Ian felt the recognizable pressure on his right. He would've clenched his fist, or anything at all, if only he could. The same person, same age as he, walked beside him towards the big tree. He knew what was coming next. The blue canary bird. The wounded blue canary bird. He faced the dark person beside him. Ian never saw his face; in fact the person beside him is formless. Curious though is that he somehow knows that this formless shadow is a person. Little Ian seemed to be... talking to the little formless shadow? Ian felt the formless person stir, like Formless Shadow was annoyed at something he said.

The little version of Ian bent down, getting ready to...

"Ian!"

He bolted upright, hitting his head with another's.

"Hey, watch it you!" Dan said with a threatening glare at him. Natalie, who was just beside Dan, rolled her eyes at her brother's stupidity.

"Uh... Ow... I guess."

Ian looked sideways, still disoriented from his peculiar dream. Amy was rubbing the side of her head gently. She knew that sooner or later she will have a bump on her forehead.

"My apologies," Ian said quickly, standing up just as fast. The effort made him bump his head once more. He slumped back down on his seat, feeling another bump rise from his head. So many bumps.

Amy bit her lip to hide her smiles. It isn't everyday that you see _the_ Ian Kabra be clumsy. "I-I di-didn't want t-to wake you, b-but..." she trailed off, her voice failing her yet once again. She simply pointed outside.

Ian followed her finger curiously. They were at a heliport of some sort. "Are we there?" he asked, scanning the place, scrutinizing. There were houses not very far from where they were. Other than those houses, fields unfolded before them.

Amy shook her head. "No-Not yet. We ju-just had a st-stop-over," she said, biting her lip for she knew what Ian's reaction would be.

Ian looked at her. "A what?"

_Exactly._

Natalie had strutted off to them. "That's what I said," she said sadly. "But you see, brother, Daniel has this mad idea that whenever we travel we must try all sorts of food."

Dan grinned, leaning his head on the back of Amy's and Ian's seats. "I'm so full," was all he said.

Ian shot him a dark look. "You're enjoying this, aren't you?" Ian, of course, knew the answer. Daniel is just so annoying at times that it's almost impossible to think that such a person exists.

"Yep," Dan replied, making a loud popping sound with the _p_.

Ian glanced helplessly at Amy. "You do know that a –"

"Stop-over is completely pointless and strategically stupid," Amy finished for him. "Yes, I do know that. But you were asleep and nobody would defend that belief save for me, Sinead, Natalie and Angelle." She shrugged. "Angelle and Sinead saw the point of buying food in the end though, so..."

"You gotta admit," Dan elbowed her sister on the shoulder (yeah, he's getting that tall by the week). "It is pretty good idea. Nobody got hungry." He eyed Ian suspiciously. "And if my deduction is correct," he continued in a Sherlock Holmes impression complete with accent, "Cobra's stomach will growl at three, two..."

Nothing.

Ian smirked. "You were saying?" he mocked.

"I hate you." And on that happy sentiment, Dan left.

Natalie opened a bag right in front of her brother's face. "Do you know what that monster Daniel wanted me to eat?" she wailed, her high voice grinding in Ian's brain.

"I'm guessing peasant food," Ian tried to say sarcastically, wincing at the sudden jolt of pain.

"YES!" Natalie shrieked. "French fries! The really thin kind! Not the homemade, thickly-sliced, high-bred potato fries! They're filled with oil and oil and more oil. I mean, greasy! Ugh! And then there were burgers. But again, not the homemade kind! They're so greasy! Do they even know how much fa-"

"And blah, blah, blah," Dan shouted from his side.

Ian pressed his fingers on his temples. He could feel another migraine coming. "Natalie," he said patiently, "I'm also guessing that you didn't even _dare_ to put those things in your mouth."

Natalie opened her mouth to rant once more, but closed it up again. "Well, no," she admitted sheepishly.

"And I'm also guessing," he went on, "that Daniel bought twice the amount of whatever food you were talking about just to annoy you."

"Affirmative," yelled their obnoxious cousin happily. Dan munched some more on his fries.

Ian gave her a look that said, _See?_

Natalie humphed and crossed her arms across her chest stubbornly. "I ate crepes. I ordered them for you, too, but of course they're not of the most excellent quality. They are not thin enough and-"

"And blah, blah, blah," Dan interrupted once again.

Amber eyes blared. Soon enough, Dan was running out of the helicopter with Natalie hot on his heels.

"You dreamt about that weird nightmare again, didn't you?" Amy said quietly, looking at Ian curiously.

He nodded, opening the bag Natalie so carelessly left him.

Amy waited for him to say something.

"It really is odd," he said, looking at the strange lump his sister had called crepe.

Amy had to smile at that. "The dream or the crepe?"

Ian smiled at her. "Both. Easy both."

"While you were sleeping," Amy prodded on hesitatingly, "you said something about 'you can't do that'."

"Did I now?" Ian responded absent-mindedly. He can't even make heads or tails of his dream, let alone know what he was saying.

"Was the bird still there?"

He nodded. "Yes, it was. The blue canary bird... it's wounded."

"Oh." Amy pursed her lips, racking her brain to remember what that could symbolize.

"And I think," he said doubtfully, "that I was going to help it." He shook his head, like he was trying to erase the memory. "Never mind. It doesn't matter. We can't afford to be distracted now." He gave her his best reassuring smile.

"We're going to be fine, you know," Amy said, tugging at her clothes awkwardly. "We're going to get out of this in one piece."

Ian hesitated. He could be rarely seen as a guy without much of a confidence, but as he had said before, he was a lot out-of-character lately. He had a feeling, a feeling deep in his bones, that something will happen. He grinned despite of it all. "Of course we'll be fine. We're Cahills."

But that statement was an irony in itself. They were Cahills. And they can never be fine.

xXxXXoXXxXx

_They are here. Finally._

He started pressing a button then another and another.

_Perfect. Let's end more lives today, shall we?_

xXxXXoXXxXx

Dan, brave and innocent and kind of ignorant as he is, went down the helicopter first despite of the others' yelled warnings. Just like the Greek person from the Trojan War. Protesilaus, was it? The others kept on screaming at him to get his annoying head inside the helicopter. He yelled back, saying that if he doesn't get out of that nutcase contraption, his butt will explode.

So naturally, Amy panicked when she saw her younger brother suddenly standing stock-still. "Dan!" She ran towards him, placing a hand on his shoulder, ready to yank him or shake him. That's when she saw everything he was looking at. When she saw it all, she froze.

"What the-" Jonah said, ogling at the scenery. The others cautiously followed after Amy.

"Flying brownies," Angelle continued, her face paling the sight of it all.

All they could say was, "Where are we?"

Natalie had her eyebrows furrowed in thought. The place looks a lot familiar to her. "It sort of looks like..."

"The Pendennis Castle," Ian finished for his sister, feeling his stomach drop down his toes. "It's Isabel's favorite castle."

"Greetings, Cahills," boomed a voice directly in front of them.

xXxXXoXXxXx

**DONE! Pretty sure I got mistakes there. Hmm...**

**QUESTION of the DAY:**

**It's your turn, people! Yes, you! It's your turn to ask me the questions. The oddest, randomest, most out-of-the-box questions. And I promise, Angelic Spring's honor, that I'll answer them as truthfully as possible. Favorite food? Favorite day? Favorite number? Color? **

**Read and Review?**

**ASpring is now whisked off to type up the last three chapters. :) **


	19. Chapter 18: The Start

**Thank you for those people who so awesomely reviewed! Haha. How can I ever thank you enough? Oh wait. I just thought of a clever idea. But it's a surpraaaaaaise :) And yes, that is the modern way of spelling surprise. :) **

**I shall answer the questions first *raises clenched fist***

**From therockinCookie: My favorite animal is a RABBIT. You didn't ask why but I'm gonna say anyways. They're so cute. And so white. And it's FLUFFY! *Agnes from Despicable Me impersonation* And yes, a part of me do believe in aliens. I don't know why, but it would be cool if they exist. Oh wait... Maybe I am one. Hm...**

**From lil'miss sunshine: My favorite monkey? Hm... I'd have to say PYGMY MARMOSET. They are so cute! And so FLUFFY! *still doing the Agnes impersonation* And I'm pretty sure they're monkeys. They are, right? But anywho, even if they get really old, they're still cute. And so tiny. You could, like, put them in your hair and would look like moving hair clips. Wooow... *sighs dreamily***

**From Amazingly Brilliant: That's the randomest question of the bunch! Hm... I'd have to say RAIN. Partly because I have never ACTUALLY seen snow before. Just on television and stuff. But hm... snow comes in different forms, right? Rain is somewhat relaxing. Soothing. And honestly, *changes into whispering tone* I can write better whenever it rains. Mwahaha! It provides inspiration :)**

**From Kay: It's not actually a question, but when I read your P.S. portion, it honestly made me smile. Pasta? Haha. Angel Hair? Haha. Actually, my pen name came from a very deep origin. Whaa? AngelicSpring is based from my real name. It's kind of like a code. Haha. And yes, I did think of being an author. But I'm pursuing Psychology in college :)**

**And it goes on and on and on. Yeah! Read on!**

XXxXXoXXxXx

Chapter 18: The Start

"They built five freaking islands just for this human chess game?" Hamilton blurted out incredulously while all of them prepared for the said game. They sat at the 'preparation/operation room' anxiously. The 'room', as the Vespers put it, takes up at least four huge suites. Plush couches, intricate interior designing; it's like telling them to enjoy all these while they still can. Everybody was sensible enough not to touch the food on the buffet table. When Dan saw those two long tables with endless selection of food, he didn't even bat an eye. Neither did Hamilton. In fact, they were even a bit hesitant to sit on the couch.

There is a huge screen with all those mind-boggling buttons which Sinead are supposed to use. Thank goodness, she knows exactly what they are for.

"We're all far away from each other," Keightlyn murmured, tugging at her purple dress then at her leggings. Phoenix placed a sympathetic arm on her shoulder.

Dan grinned, scratching the side part of his costume. "Aw, c'mon! We're just, like, a minute away from each other," he said, bringing his old everything-will-be-okay-so-let's-get-pizza-later attitude.

"A couple of minutes boat ride away from each other," Phoenix interjected quietly.

Ian stared at the beckoning landscape which the French windows showed him. The Pendennis castle replica was a mere fore-picture of the whole thing. The intimidating bricks had been a hoax. Ian was expecting more of the Harry Potter version of human chess game. No such luck. The Vespers provided him with an extensive view of man-made islands.

"They really outdo themselves, those Vespers," he said, resting his chin on his clenched fist.

Amy mutely nodded. She fingered the soft textile of her costume. Her fingers instinctively clutched the choker Ian gave her. _Nobody could deny the fact that they are battling Vespers now. Five islands. We're all apart. It's like what Ian said during our Lucians classes. When you've kept your enemies close, divide and conquer._

Sinead, being the Chess Master, will stay at the operation room.

Angelle and the Pawns will stay at the island connected to the operation room by a replica of an ancient drawbridge.

Approximately (well, according to the Starlings anyway; something about the direction of the wind and the growth of who-knows-what on the walls) four kilometres from Angelle's island are the islands of the Knight and the Bishop. The island of Hamilton and the island of Jonah are four kilometres apart, so with Angelle's island they form something like a triangle.

To form a bigger triangle, at the farthest end are the islands of the King and Queen, and the Prince and Princess.

All of those are four kilometres apart and from each other a minute far away based on the boat's said velocity. Therefore from Sinead's operation room, the last islands are... eight kilometres and two minutes away.

Again, courtesy of the Starlings.

The speakers on the corner of the room sent a warning round of static, signalling that somebody will speak. True enough, a girl's voice – probably Ian and Amy's age – spoke. "You are now asked to stay with your partners and wait for your respective boats." The atmosphere changed drastically, from light to sadistic. "If you want to say your last goodbyes, this is the perfect time to do so," she continued menacingly, but with the for-cabin-crews-only voice.

Hamilton risked a long glance at each of his team. All of them looked so scared even though some did their best to hide it. And he can't do anything about it.

Jonah 'the movie star/recording artist/ billionaire' Wizard tried his best to make up a silly song for the situation. Everything came out strangled and barely mumbled.

Ian 'the king of the world/ snobby/ mysterious' Kabra kept on tugging at his collar with that intense scrutinizing method of his and raising an eyebrow everytime he looked out on the horizon.

Hamilton cleared his throat rather loudly, making some of them flinch. "You know," he started, looking very awkward. He swallowed audibly, like his throat is clogged up by volleyballs. "For what it's worth..." He eyed all of them again hesitatingly. "I really am sorry for causing this mess."

Nobody spoke. The air went absolutely still; nobody dared to breathe.

"I guess I should go and apologize, too," Ian said, smoothing his military jacket for imaginary creases. "For being... Well, for being, as you Americans put it, a jerk."

Dan nodded seriously and appreciatively. "Yeah. You are," he agreed which earned him a smack on the head from Amy. His older sister shot him a meaningful look.

_Don't ruin it, dweeb!_

_Ruin what? All this mushiness? _Dan rolled his eyes at her. _This is worse than those fat, naked babies you call art. _

_No, we're not getting into that argument about 'fat, naked babies'. And that's not what I meant._ Amy gave him a sterner glare. _I meant,_ _Olivia Cahill's dream. For all the Cahills to be together again. Luke and Thomas patching up. Remember, oh great king of dweebiness? _

_Fine._ Dan looked exasperated. _But if even one of our dear relatives cry, I'm drowning myself in that cool crocodile-infested moat. That goes for you, too. _

Amy rolled her jade green eyes at him. Dan rolled the exact same shade of eyes at her.

"Would the two of you stop that, yo?" Jonah said, looking at them weirdly. "That's seriously creepin' me out."

"Let's just go, Wizard," Angelle said, rolling her eyes which are highly accented with thick eyeliner.

Jonah gave all of them his this-crowd-totally-digs-me smile. "Okay, people! Let's teach these folks how to dougie!"

XXxXXoXXxXx

Hamilton pulled Sinead away from the others when he thought nobody was looking. _Thought_ being a very important word there.

Ian was saying something in a hushed tone to Natalie. The girl seemed to not quite get what he was talking about.

Dan and Amy were only looking at each other. No words are needed to be exchanged.

Jonah was excitedly telling Angelle about something which the girl seemed to be happy about, too.

Keightlyn and Phoenix practiced their friendship handshake.

Reagan and Madison practiced their 'we're-kicking-more-butts' handshake.

Ned and Ted were... were busy stuffing their mouths with Nerds.

And then they were paired off and whisked away to their respective islands, leaving a slightly red Sinead Starling behind.

XXxXXoXXxXx

_Okay, Starling. This is it. Game face. One false move, everybody dies. No pressure._

Sinead Haverford Starling let out a deep breath. It sounded more like a strangled hiss with her mixed emotions.

"Stop it, Sinead," she chided herself softly. "Think of... of those other matters later." Her teeth crashed down her bottom lip. She eased the pressured little by little so as not to start drawing blood from it. Not to mention that irrevocable blush creeping on her cheeks.

She fiddled with the different buttons in front of her nervously. _This one is for the King and Queen intercom. The orange beside it is for the Prince and Princess. This one is for the Pawns. That shiny black one is for the Bishop. And this... this last red one is... is..._ She bit her lip hard again, this time irrevocably causing it to bleed just a tiny bit. _Gosh, Sinead. It's just a thought. You're just thinking. Not even talking out loud. C'mon. The last one is for... the last character. There. Better._ She gingerly touched her injured lip. _Ow... That really hurts. _

"A penny for your thoughts, milady?"

Sinead twirled around in shock. She was met by a brown-haired guy donning a maroon long-sleeved business shirt. His index finger reached up to push his square-shaped glasses up his nose.

Sinead involuntarily backed up. Her mind processed 'Vesper' as quickly as it would have recognized a certain 'H' person. "Who-Who are you?"

He looked at her lazily and stretched his arms high in the air. "The other Chess Master, of course. You do know that this is the Chess Masters' lounge, right?" He shot her a raised eyebrow, clearly taking her as a slow person.

"I-I..." she trailed off, just as a buzzing sound came from her screen. The static continued to pierce through the air.

"Stupid piece of junk! Is this thing even working?" growled Hamilton's voice.

Sinead almost screamed in relief. "Hamilton!" She rushed towards the screen, fumbling through the buttons.

The screen cleared up suddenly. Hamilton's face came, all grainy like what happens with old televisions. He was biting his lip thoughtfully and was squinting at something. His face was a tad too close on the screen. "Sinead?"

"Is anything wrong? Is everything okay?" she asked hurriedly, looking around Hamilton's surroundings.

Hamilton pursed his lips at that. "Hm... Aside from the fact that there is no screen in this freaking island and that this costume is starting to seriously itch, everything's just peachy," he ranted, looking quite amused. "You could see me, couldn't you?"

Sinead almost nodded when she realized that Hamilton could not see her. "Yeah," she breathed.

"Hmm... So, you're Sinead Starling," the other Chess Master drawled lazily, looking at the screen, too. He was a little too close for her comfort.

Hamilton perked up. "Who is that?" he asked, a little edge detected on his voice.

"Nobody," Sinead said quickly, hoping he'll let it drop.

_Of course he didn't. _

"He didn't sound like nobody to me," he pressed on, inching his face closer as if that would make him see Sinead.

"Quite the little worrywart, aren't we?" the other Chess Master murmured close in her ear. "Is he your boy-"

"He's not," Sinead interjected hurriedly. "He's not what you think he is." Her voice came out gratuitously louder, an octave higher and a little shaky, too.

Chess Master the Second simply pursed his lips amusedly at her actions and shrugged as if to say, "Whatever you say." He, then, left her alone with the agitated looking Hamilton.

"I'm not what?" Hamilton's voice came again, piercing through the awkward atmosphere like a scalpel.

Before Sinead could reply, a voice boomed again from the main intercom. Hamilton tilted his head to the side to hear the announcement better. "To all people," the voice paused, seeing something funny with the word _people_, "gathered here today... The Chess Game -" another entertained pause "- is about to start in five seconds."

Hamilton's screen suddenly went off.

"Good luck, Ms. Starling," the other Chess Master said, an annoying smirk laced on his face. "And to your," he paused exaggeratedly, "lovely teammates, as well."

"Same to you," Sinead replied, trying hard not to grit her teeth. She closed her eyes. _This is it. No backing out._

Still on their respective islands, the Cahills thought of the exact same thing.

_Three._

_Two._

_One._

The final bell resounded, echoing through them like that shrill sound would be the last thing they'll ever hear.

_Show time. _

XXxXXoXXxXx

**Short. I know. I am sorry. That's the best I could do for this week. I'm such an utter failure. Not to mention those unnecessary fluffs. HAHA. I feel so groggy-ish. Like I had an overdose of... of something. Ugh. I hate it. Time check: Whoa! 12 in the freakin' mornin'! Wahaha. Don't you love staying up late and multi-tasking? :)**

**Oh yeah. I finally have a Twitter account! Woohoo! You know why? Just for the sole reason: FOLLOW SUNGHA JUNG. Wait, what? You don't know him? You should! Search for his awesome videos on Youtube and bask in all his glory. (Wha?) And also I am now a proud member of thenelliegomezfoundation(dot)webs(dot)com, under the penname AngelicSpring (surprise, surprise). Woohoo!**

**Extreme fangirlishness (again, WHA?) aside, The Medusa Plot is, in actuality, amazing yet unpredictable. Whew. I mean, could anybody, as in anybody at all, hate Evan Tolliver, in actuality? He was described as... in actuality... NICE. But you know *whispering mode time* I can slightly feel that he's a Vesper. Haha. I am, in actuality, so biased. **

**QUESTION of the DAY:**

**It's still your turn! In actuality, it would be your turn until this story ends... So ask away, FanFictioners!**

**Oh yeah. Happy Birthday to my sister! Ew... you're old. KIDDING! It's tomorrow... oops, today, fourth of September. **

**SNEAK PEEK ON THE NEXT CHAPTER:**

"Twenty seconds," the timer announced, sending a visible ruffle on both parties. The other team, clearly not the Vermoes, seemed to be struggling at a particular question, too. Just a little while before the game started, Amy and Ian tried in vain to find out why the Vermoes did not show up. The theories they ended up with are not pretty at all.

Amy sighed dejectedly. "I wish Dan was here."

Ian shut his eyes tightly, trying hard to remember that day. _Dan was being a git, as usual. Impersonating a character from that cartoon... oh sorry, anime series he adored. Pokemon, was it? I choose you, he shouted. And then, he changed the wording. What was it again?_ Ian slammed his fist on the table. _The answer is right there! In the change of wording. Bloody... _

**AngelicSpring is, in actuality, OVER AND OUT!**


	20. Chapter 19: The Moment

**Wheet-woo! Twenty-two reviews? You guys are monsters! I swear, you spin my head right na-na-na when you review, when you review yeah! (I do not own the melody of whatever that song is called) **

**As a thank you and sorry, here is a long-ish chapter. I was going to update earlier but there are certain circumstances which include a high-tide, tree planting, temporary distance from the laptop and fever. Seriously, you do not want to know what those mean.**

**SlytherinGurrl: I am so sorry that I could not PM you. But here's the thing about TMP. It has lots of changes and they went to explore Italy more. And Rome, too... I think. Ugh. My book was borrowed by a person who passed it to another and now I'm having quite the trouble looking for it. Ugh. **

**Lil'miss sunshine: Favorite cartoon, huh? I gotta say: Phineas and Ferb. Haha. If I had a brain like theirs... who knows what I would start building to annoy that freaking, irritating, who-knows-how-anybody-could-handle-him – Ehem. Sorry 'bout that. **

**Anonymous Person: Hmm... Fashion? I'm not really into fashion, I guess. As long as I'm comfortable. But I do find Abbey Dawn and Harajuku interesting. Mwahaha. **

**(to the reviewer with no name): Thank you, thank you, thank you for those information! Whew. Wow. You have pointed out things I didn't even know. The OOC-ness though. *sighs* I have noticed. Though reading TMP... Anyways, I assume you would be the one who asked what my favorite anime is aside from DC. Cardcaptor Sakura, definitely. I have liked that anime series ever since I was, like, four! Mwahaha. And Tsubasa R.C. And Magic Kaito. And Pokemon. And Special A. And Alice Academy. And – If I enumerate all of them, there wouldn't be any space left for the story. Haha.**

**Classified: PJ – PercAbeth (all the way); KC – AnubisXSadie, CarterXZia (Mwahaha); 39 clues - AmIan, HamInead, NatAn (cliché, right?) I do not know what 'hoo' is . *sighs* I'm so slow today. I'm sorry. **

**(to the reviewer with no name2): Yes, I am Filipina. :P Haha. **

**DISCLAIMER: Uh-uh. **

**Do read.**

XXxXXoXXxXx

Chapter 19: The Moment

SCREEN 1.

Ian and Amy peered over the first set of questions. Fifteen all in all. Ian would take all the odd numbers and Amy would take the rest. The King and Queen's task turned out to be easy... ish. All they have to do is answer the hard questions and earn their team as much Stars as they could. If they fail to answer, certain punishment must be implemented. The Queen would get hurt first, then the King.

"Write neatly and understandably," Sinead's voice came somewhere above them. That has been her trademark reminder ever since they have decided that Amy and Ian would be the Queen and King. The exact same reminder she gives her sloppy brothers whenever they take up any test. It's like the whole chess game is answering a simple diagnostic test.

"Got it," Ian Kabra replied distractedly. He's already working his way through question number fifteen. _Who in the world is this? First child born in the American colonies? August 18__th__? Roanoke Island, North Carolina? _He gritted his teeth. _Think, Ian. Faster._ Then he bit his tongue to keep from uttering improper words. He glared at the timer. Thirty _bloody_ seconds left.

Amy Cahill wrote the last few digits of the value of pi. She noticed Ian's frustration. She looked over his shoulder. "Hm... I think Sinead mentioned that once."

Ian gave her one curt nod. _He knows that, but who? _His memory couldn't betray him now. Sure, he could think up of a foolproof strategy in a minute flat, but just one trivia... one trivia and he had to forget.

"All I remember is that she's a she and that her last name..." Amy closed her eyes to remember better. "Her last name is oddly similar to a character in Percy Jackson." She started muttering the character's last names. "Jackson, no. Underwood? Chase... Grace... Hm... Grace?" She muttered on and on, even if Ian could hardly hear what she is saying.

"Twenty seconds," the timer announced, sending a visible ruffle on both parties. The other team, clearly not the Vermoes, seemed to be struggling at a particular question, too.

Just a little while before the game started, Amy and Ian tried in vain to find out why the Vermoes did not show up. The theories they ended up with are not pretty at all.

Amy sighed dejectedly. "I wish Dan was here."

Ian shut his eyes tightly, trying hard to remember that day.

_Dan was being a git, as usual. _

_Impersonating a character from that cartoon... oh sorry, anime series he adored. _

_Pokemon, was it? I choose you, he shouted. And then, he changed the wording. _

_What was it again?_

Ian slammed his fist on the table, making Amy slightly flinch from her own reverie. _The answer is right there! In the change of wording. Bloody... _

_Virg... I da... you!_

Dan's face came into view, like a 3D movie in the back of his head.

_He was standing on his table. Waving his arms around him like a madman. _

_The laughter returned, partly annoyed, partly entertained. _

_All of them were laughing, Natalie was rolling her eyes... but was trying hard not to smile. _

_Then he yelled that annoying phrase again. _

"That's it!" Ian shouted triumphantly. He wrote hurriedly, not wasting any time.

Amy glanced at his somewhat understandable handwriting. "Virginia... Dare..." she read. Ian pressed the buzzer with only a couple of seconds left. "Of course," she exclaimed, looking at Ian with wonder. "How did you...?"

"Dan could be a pleasant memory at times, I'm afraid," Ian breathed, exhaling a long sigh of relief. The bright yellow neon light above them lit up, signalling that they have earned another Star.

_Virginia, I Dare you!_

Ian laughed despite of himself.

XXxXXoXXxXx

SCREEN 3.

"Oh yeah, baby," Ned shouts could be heard up to Amy and Ian's island. At least that's what Sinead and Angelle thinks. "Can't hit, can ya?"

"Oopsie, oopsie. Missed me, missed me. Never gonna hit me," Ted sang, much to his opponent's contempt. He faked right and moved left, deftly tripping the said opponent flat on his-or-her face. "Booyah!"

Ned high-fived his brother. "That's what I'm talking about!"

This is Angelle's first time to have an extreme and serious panic attack. Excluding the time that Keightlyn was rushed to the hospital because of insanely high fever. Or that time when Jonah 'accidentally and nearly' broke his neck.

_It's not fair! Our Pawns are way too young to not be afraid of drawing blood. These monsters in front of us on the other hand... They're not afraid to kill us! _

Angelle ducked to avoid a sharp, double-edged knife that a girl Pawn threw at her. She bit her lip hard to keep from cursing out loud. It missed her by half an inch, probably grazing some of her newly-conditioned blonde hair.

The sound of an arrow leaving its bow was heard. Angelle stiffened. "Reagan, Madison!" she yelled, not risking looking at them. "You okay?"

"Never better," came the shouted reply. Actually, they were having the best fun in years. Both of them worked in a pattern only they could pull off. While Reagan shields her twin sister, Madison does all the physical 'necessary hurting'.

Angelle gritted her teeth and looked up where she knew the camera is. "Sinead, what next?"

"Just keep Phoenix out of the way," Sinead's calm voice came choppy and barely audible. "He's hurt as is." She paused, struggling for words. "You're doing great."

Angelle glanced at the said twelve-year-old. Phoenix clutched at his injured arm protectively. His forehead is beaded with sweat and yet he still struggled to keep the Pawns flag away from the other team's clutches.

That was the challenge for the Pawns. They have to prevent the other team from getting hold of their respective flags. Sinead decided to put Phoenix in that position, considering how he had a sudden pain attack a minute before the game started.

"Report on the others," Angelle demanded, dreading the news that would come.

"Dan has Natalie covered after she fell in that same writhing pain just a few minutes ago. He's pretty reliable," Sinead replied after a minute's pause. "Wouldn't be long until –"

"We would end this game before Reagan feels the pain," Angelle spat, barely dodging the poisoned dart her enemy threw at her. She had a concrete idea why some of them are having painful seizures. The kidnapping.

"You tore my dress!" Keightlyn abruptly shrieked at a masked Pawn. "Ugh! You are going down," she growled menacingly for a twelve-year-old kid. They performed a fencing-like routine. After what seemed like forever, Keightlyn had her twenty-ish-year-old enemy pinned to the ground.

"I yield," her enemy cried out, cowering in fear at the little girl.

"Really?" Keightlyn smiled happily. "Oh, goody!" She clapped her hands like a child and led the poor and scared Pawn out of the arena.

"Reagan!"

Angelle kicked her opponent on the stomach, hard enough to make him topple over the edge. She glanced over the twins. _Oh this is not good..._

Reagan's body began writhing in pain and she was clutching at her heart. "It... burns..." she croaked.

Angelle ran towards them, kneeling down amidst the glass shards. "Did she get hit?"

Madison shook her head forcefully. She's blinking really fast like something got stuck in her eyes. "One moment we were kicking butts, and the next thing I know... she's collapses..." Her voice broke at the oddest places.

Angelle placed a comforting arm around her shoulder. "Place her beside Phoenix. Then come back here and we'll kick more butts, okay?" Madison just nodded, the limp body of Reagan Holt already in her arms.

Angelle swallowed hard and bit her lip to keep it from shaking. She's so close to tears, too.

XXxXXoXXxXx

SCREEN 4.

"Hey, S-dawg," Jonah called out. _Being a Bishop is so darn boring. I wish I was just a Pawn. Gah._

"What do you want, Jonah?" Sinead queried impatiently.

"Are the Pawns doing okay?"

Sinead knew deep inside he was agitated. I mean, from S-dawg switching to proper language? Nobody needs to be smart to figure that out.

Sinead examined Screen 3 tentatively. Angelle had a huge gushing wound on her left arm and kept on muttering how 'replacements' would've been great. Madison is just right beside her, warding off all their enemies. Ned and Ted are busy making first aid materials for their teammates. But even they are losing energy. Phoenix and Reagan are helplessly twitching in pain on one side, trying desperately to hold on to the flag so as not to let the other team take an advantage as it is.

"Sinead?" Jonah called again, this time a little bit more worried. He kept on closing and opening his palm, itching to do something besides wait for his butt to go to sleep and glare at the other Bishop.

"Uh..." Sinead coughed once to remove that growing lump in her throat. "We have more than enough Stars so... Could you," she paused, looking at the expectant face of her very, very, very distant cousin. "Could you trade a Star for bars of chocolates? You know how they are... Dan, Ned and Ted, especially." Oh, how she tried to keep her voice casual. To make everything sound like everything's perfectly fine.

Jonah grinned, obviously buying the faux mission. "Chocolate bars it is then, homie! Tell them to eat these fast so that they'll get 'nuff of that energy, yo!"

Sinead nodded mutely, hoping... sincerely hoping that they'll get to eat those chocolate bars together.

XXxXXoXXxXx

SCREEN 5.

Hamilton's chest heaved in and out, gasping for breath hungrily. Pieces of his costume are sprinkled across the battle field brutally. An angry open wound slashed from the base of his neck down to his chest. He glared at the other Knight hatefully.

Other than that, everything is perfectly fine.

Sinead winced as the blade of the opponent's sword arched dangerously near his heart.

"Hamilton...?" Sinead's voice came tentatively.

"Hmm?" Jab, jab. Duck, slash. _Ugh, that was close._

Sinead watched Hamilton's absent-minded face and immediately knew that he was barely listening to what she's saying. "Ian said that... I mean, he thought that you could... I mean, that we could afford a Rest for you," she said, hesitating for she knew what he would say.

"I don't need it."

_Exactly what he has been saying since the start of the game. _

Sinead sighed. He was seriously starting to get on her nerves. How could a nearly dying person not need a few minutes of Rest? She massaged her temples, hoping to soothe the throbbing ache and shut her eyes. "Look, Hamil –"

"Sinead? I have this plan..."

Sinead looked at the screen. Pause.

She paled and said the two words that could literally change everything.

XXxXXoXXxXx

You know that something will be wrong... when you began thanking heaven and earth for the interruption of the being you hate the most.

Three whole hours of fighting later, the main intercom sent out those clichéd crackling sounds again. Sinead Starling let out a wobbly sigh of relief. _At least her cousins could rest... even for just a few minutes. _

"So Cahills and guests," the same guy's – the one who welcomed them to their doom – voice greeted cheerfully. "Are you having a good time?"

Angelle yelled out something unprintable.

Hamilton growled louder with more unprintable words which made Sinead thank Ian's strategy of putting Hamilton away from the younger ones.

But then again, Ian also isn't that great at keeping those British and French expressions to himself.

Jonah, at least, had the decency to just burst to sentences which have a rhyme scheme pattern. But even those are... well, slightly... yeah.

The incessantly mocking voice laughed harder. "I'll take that as a yes, then." The ground shook none too gently. Screens came up from the ground of all the islands. Angelle and the other Pawns had to step backward slightly. Ian looked at the flat screen with narrowed eyes and utter suspiciousness. Hamilton resisted the urge to throw all four empty bottles of water which he had finished in the last four minutes at it. Jonah warily looked at it, expecting to see the others' faces.

The screen lit up and a silhouette appeared. Even though all they could see is a black, nearly formless figure, there is no mistaking that cocky aura.

The screen changed and it showed a close-up picture of a rather haggard-looking - no other than - Ian Kabra. Amy can't be seen from where he was standing mainly because the cocky shadow did not want her to be seen... Just yet.

Ian's amber eyes flared indignantly. "What do you want, you immoral being?" he demanded angrily, his words coming out as a ferocious growl. From Natalie and Dan's island, the girl stirred ever so slightly from her nightmarish unconsciousness. Dan pursed his lip in concentration and shifted her limp body, resting Natalie's head on his right thigh.

The voice clucked his tongue dramatically in faux disappointment. "Now, now, brother. You can't go calling me immoral, now can you?"

The sudden endearment did nothing to ease Ian's boiling temper. If anything, it only managed to raise it to insane-boiling point. "Do not call me brother, you insensitive swine!" He let out a hysterical laugh. "Honestly, I pity that person who happens to share the same DNA as you!" he spat, his adrenaline driving him to fight despite his faltering energy.

"Way to go, Cobra," Dan murmured tiredly, his fingers flying unconsciously up to his sleepy eyes to rub them. "Go use your bone-headedness on people who deserve them."

There was a pregnant pause. The kind of silence which you normally get before the main storm comes in.

The voice finally broke the lingering silence. "Does that mean you pity yourself, Mr. Ian _Kabra_?" His last name was coated in deep sarcasm, implying something, making him realize an important fact.

His question made the silence grow thicker. Ian's normally calm facade broke. His fingers were slightly shaking as he leaned on the answering table desperately for support. "Wh-What do you...? Wh-What are you talking about?"

Hamilton Holt couldn't believe his eyes. Couldn't believe what he was witnessing. _Kabra can't possibly fall for his distractions, can he? _After all, this was the same Ian Kabra who taught all of them to look down at people who look down on you. _Right?_

Ian's face disappeared from all the screens and was replaced by the silhouette again. "Do you really want to know?" It was a challenge, a challenge to something they do not know. A taunt without anybody knowing what they had to lose. It was a distraction, probably, and it was working.

Nobody spoke. The other team seemed to be taking all of this in and couldn't really get the gist of it. After all, they were only told that they would play chess.

The voice chuckled. "Oh well. Did you know that silence means yes, ladies and gentlemen?" There was a sudden bright light, so bright that it made all of them flinch away from the screens and kept their eyes shut to avoid any permanent damage.

Coincidentally, all of them managed to look at the screen at the exact same time. Like fate, they thought of the same thing: that the screens exploded into nothingness. Ironically, just like life, what they saw next was a lot unsettling than the exploding screen they thought would be.

The screen showed the tanned skin – that familiar tone... and bright, amber eyes – very similar to Isabel Kabra's... and the gaunt facial features of Ian Kabra. Only that this one has tousled, brown hair and not jet black.

"You asked what I was talking about." The brown-haired version of Ian Kabra spread his arms wide. "This," he grinned haughtily, enjoying the horrified looks from everybody – that's just the kind of guy he is, right? Scaring people effortlessly – "is what I'm talking about, my dear, twin brother."

The teeny-tiny voice of a protesting Amy Cahill could be heard. "I-Ian ha-has a si-sister and not a twin br-brother. I-If th-this is your i-idea of a j-joke, we-we're not buying it," she said lamely, thinking that she probably didn't make any sense. She was stuttering pretty badly and no amount of her previous trainings could calm it.

The guy laughed appreciatively. "Well, well, well. Isn't that nice? Very cute. Little Amy Cahill standing up for my little brother," he said amusedly, clapping his index fingers for effect. "Why don't we ask him, then? What do you think, brother dear? Am I telling the truth?"

Ian didn't say anything. His thoughts are too befuddled. He didn't even know what to feel.

It can't be...

The dreams...

The birth certificates in that cursed room.

_No... NoNoNoNoNoNo... NO!_

His mirror image sighed sympathetically. "You've always been the shy one," he continued fondly. "Well, why don't you tell them about your second name, then? Your full name which you have recently found during your little trip to the restricted Kabra wing."

Ian flinched. It's like this whoever person could read his mind.

Amy caught that and suddenly her heart dropped down to her stomach. _Oh no... Oh, god..._

"Seriously, Ian. Do I really have to do everything for you?" He ran his fingers through his brown hair, making it all the more dishevelled. "After all these years, I thought you would've gained a bit of backbone. I'm starting to get disappointed in you, Ian Alexander Vesper-Hollingsworth Kabra."

The name echoed and reverberated through all of them. The description made sense actually. All of them felt so hollow inside, like a deep cave or a sinkhole. Angelle stumbled back, placing a hand over Madison's shoulder for support. Ned and Ted left their overflowing concoction unnoticed. Jonah had his mouth hung wide open and he couldn't do anything but slump back on his seat, unable to do anything. Hamilton dropped the empty bottles. Sinead gasped loudly, enough for that other Chess Master to look at her curiously and ask her if she needed anything. Dan checked Natalie's sleeping face, making sure that she is not seeing this.

_Ian..._

_Alexander..._

_Vesper..._

_Hollingsworth..._

_Kabra..._

_Ian... Alex... Ves... Holl... Kabra..._

"Oh silly me." Ian's supposedly-twin laughed happily. "How rude, how rude. Dear me. I'm sorry for not introducing myself sooner. I'm Alexander Ian Vesper-Hollingsworth, son of Isabel Vesper - Hollingsworth Kabra."

XXxXXoXXxXx

From the Prince and Princess' island, Natalie opened her eyes, struggling against the pressure of indescribable pain. She looked up only to see the shell-shocked expression of Daniel Cahill. He was looking straight ahead and it was as if he could see the world collapsing in front of his eyes. She cleared her parched throat.

Dan zapped back to reality... or as far as reality could go anyway.

"Whatever is the matter, Daniel? You look like you've seen... a... ghost," she breathed, seeing the change of expression in his face. He looked older for some reason, the same expression you would see from someone who has seen it all.

Natalie's suspicions were gone as soon as they came. Dan laughed suddenly. "Well, yeah. Actually, now that you've mentioned it, I did see a ghost." Natalie's perfectly arched eyebrows asked the unspoken question. "I'm looking at it at the moment," he smirked, looking pointedly at her.

It took Natalie a full minute to comprehend that he was talking about her. She tried to raise her hand to smack him on the shoulder to no avail. She glared at him instead. "You're lucky I'm dead tired, Daniel. Or else..."

Dan shrugged mockingly. "Whatever you say, Princess. If you'd just admit that you're a lazy sleepyhead, then maybe..." he trailed off, seeing her glare intensifies to a scale of 'enough-to-kill-you'.

"I'm going back to my sleep. Make sure we don't get killed," Natalie grumbled, resuming to her fetal sleeping position.

Dan waited until he could feel the slow and even breathing of Natalie Kabra before he breathed a slow sigh of relief. It's a good thing she didn't look to the side...

She would've seen the agonized face of her brother... and his twin brother.

XXxXXoXXxXx

**D. O. N. E!**

**That wasn't as long as I first thought it would be. And I rushed through it because logarithms are swimming in my head as well as momentum and impulse. *sighs* **

**Oh well. What a twist, eh mate? I dunno. More explanations on the way so feel free to ask your questions about the story. Feel free to yell at me for doing something so horrible. And who knows, I might just add a chapter. Hihi. **

**Oh yeah. As for my Twitter account, I still have to finalize things so yeah... Apparently... Yeah... Wow. I didn't understand what I just said. **

**QUESTION of the DAY: **

**How do you feel about that little revelation? What do you think will happen next? What do YOU want to happen next? What is the best chapter so far?**

**The fate of this story is in your hands, dear reader.**

**Read and Review!**

**Till Next Time,**

**AngelicSpring. **


	21. Chapter 20: The End of The Beginning

**OMGosh! You would NOT believe what happened! First, I realized the PM thingy won't open. I click and click on it but it won't open. So I thought that was a FanFiction issue. Then, it won't let me open my account! I thought it got hacked or something. I managed to open it yesterday, I think or two days ago. **

**I thought I wouldn't be able to post the last chapter! It had me freaking out! Bottom line: I'm sorry! I made sure that this chapter is pretty long and pretty exciting and I hope, hope, hope it'll leave you breathless because that's what I was going for. Huh. Too much to ask, I guess. **

**DISCLAIMER: After all this time, do I really have to do this? Uh-uh. **

**We're nearly there, people. Near the freaking two words: The End. **

XXxXXoXXxXx

Chapter 20: The End of The Beginning

Everybody agreed that they needed an explanation. Sure, it would feel a lot like video chat, but information is a dire need at the moment. They wouldn't dare ask for the luxury of seeing each other just to talk.

Sinead managed to tinker with the mechanisms a little bit, so now all of them could see each other through the televisions. Amy, Sinead, Hamilton, Jonah, Dan (Natalie is still pretty much out) and the Pawns (Phoenix and Reagan in the same state as Natalie Kabra) stared at the television each of them had and waited for Kabra's story. Ian explained to them what he actually saw in the restricted Kabra wing.

"So there my little sister was, shuffling through stacks and stacks of papers with me," Ian said breathily, his voice as foggy as a London winter. "There was this particular envelope," he held his breath, oblivious to the fact that everybody else is doing the same. "An old manila envelope which didn't seem important. It was even tearing around the edges." He chuckled dryly. "But of course, I had to be really curious and open it."

Dan found the sensibility to roll his eyes at him. "Why in the world would you open it? I thought that's FLO or whatever garbage you always spout? I mean hello," he said exasperatedly.

Ian shot him an angry look, angry enough to look annoyed in the camera, but gave it up knowing that arguing with Dan would probably take more time than necessary. He lapsed back to his trip to memory lane. "And well, I didn't understand it at first. The writings on it are starting to fade. Fade horribly, I should add. I thought it was another of those numerous people my parents have murdered." All of them flinched at the casualness with which Ian threw his words. He, on the other hand, pretended he did not see. "But, I was arrogant. I tried to decipher the remaining letters and realized that I was looking at several copies of birth certificates. The birth certificates of two people," he breathed, clenching his fist to keep them from shaking.

"That guy and yours," Amy murmured, comprehension coming easily despite all her befuddled emotions.

Ian nodded, a slight movement of the head in affirmation which looked more like a sudden chill. "That guy and mine. Of course Isabel had fabricated quite a convincing collection of documents regarding my birth to show Vikram. She made it look like I was his son... when in fact, I was born from a different... a different father." He fought the sudden wave of nausea that threatened at the pit of his stomach.

"Do you know who..." Hamilton trailed off, not quite sure if he should continue or not as the question might prove to be offending.

Ian looked straight at the camera. "No, I don't. That part was completely erased in both his and my documents."

Dan held up a hand, like he was reciting at class. Ian regarded him with a wary look. "If you and this monster here," he raised his shoulder slightly for everybody to see Natalie, "have different fathers, then why do you look so much alike? I mean, come on! Look at me and that other monster beside you." Amy shook her head disappointedly. "We have obvious differences and yet we have the same parents." Dan paused, his eyes widening for a moment before blurting out. "At least, I think we do. I mean, we do, don't we?" he demanded, his speech a tad too fast.

Amy pursed her lips, deciding whether or not she should pull a prank on him or not, but went against it because he looked pretty upset by the mere thought. Deep inside, Amy felt warm. She didn't realize that she was as important to him as he was to her. "Yes, Dan. You're my real brother."

Dan breathed a sigh of relief, then quickly bluffed it by smirking. "Oh that's too bad. 'Cause I was pretty sure you came from Planet ChubChub." _And __there __goes __the__ warm __feeling_, Amy thought. She let it slide, though.

"There's a huge difference between Natalie and I," Ian spoke up. "Our blood type. The blood type incompatibility... is something I found out right after the gauntlet."

Angelle who had been silent all this time decided to speak. "So when Natalie was shot at the foot..."

"It was more than just a threat at that time," Ian said. "Isabel shot her for another reason. She knows that I would be with Natalie and that she would need blood transfusion. You can only imagine my shock when the doctors said our blood types were incompatible. It was my first time to donate blood, after all." Ian chuckled stoically.

"Yeah, 'cause you hire innocent people to do that," Dan muttered.

Sinead hesitated. "But you know, for you to be sure that you really aren't related by merely blood types..."

"You must know the blood type of your other family members," finished Ned and Ted thoughtfully.

"I've already done that," Ian replied, rolling his eyes. "And I know you could guess what I found out. I didn't have the same blood type as Natalie, Vikram or even Isabel."

"Oh."

Jonah scratched the back of his head, feeling ill at ease. "I don't know. This sounds a lot more confusing than Shakespeare. All this talk about family thingies. So you're saying that your dad..." He shook his head, rephrasing his statement. "I mean, that Vikram dude swallowed all of Isabel's lies?"

Ian gave them a dry smile. "You don't know her. I'm not saying I admire her, but the way she holds her lies and make them look like the truth, priceless. Or maybe her lies are so flawless, people would rather swallow those than face a painful truth."

Jonah nodded slowly, processing all the information. "So, Isabel is a Vesper?"

Ian nodded. "A descendant, I think. Her maiden name is Vesper-Hollingsworth or so I've read."

Jonah bit his lip, his eyes narrowing as if he's working on some mathematical problem. "So if your technical mom is a Vesper and your technical dad is... is a something... does that make you...?"

"I will never be a Vesper," Ian growled back, his voice filled with determination.

"How about a something? Could you be a something... 'Cause your technical dad is a... a something..." Dan finished helpfully. Or not.

All of them were enveloped into a thick shroud of silence.

Sinead eyed the paling faces of her teammates. No, that's wrong. They're more than just her teammates. They're her relatives. Blood-related. No matter how many times removed.

_But __admitting__ that...__Aren__'__t__ you__ also__ accepting__ that__ somehow__ you__'__re__ related __to __the__ Vespers?_ the little voice in her head nagged.

She engulfed a huge intake of breath, hoping that it would somehow slow down her erratic heartbeat. "Hey, guys!" she greeted, not at all shocked when every single one of them recoiled involuntarily at her feigned cheeriness.

She watched from the screens as Hamilton slowly raised his head, his face showed nothing but unreserved defeat. Jonah Wizard merely looked out on the horizon, staring at something nobody could see. Ian remained unmoving as he sat on one of the benches provided for him and Amy. Amy, on the other hand, tried her best to remain invisible against Ian's aura of wrath. Dan absentmindedly brushed a lock of Natalie's face out of her face. Angelle looked at all her Pawns.

"What do we do now, Sinead?" Angelle asked, her voice barely rising from a whisper.

Sinead opened her mouth, only to have it closed again. _Continue __to__ fight?__That __is __something__ a __Cahill__ would __do._But, they were more than just a part of their legacy. They are living in their own legacy. Now living as separate Cahills who now understand better than most of their ancestors. She can see how much all of them are aching to go home and withdraw from the world for just a moment. Everything... Everything is turning out to be more than what they could handle.

Sinead steeled her nerves. "We could yield now."

Her statement did not earn any flinching or recoiling or shock from her cousins. They just remained in their positions as though they did not hear anything.

Sinead slumped down her velvet couch, not feeling the slightest bit reassured by its warm textile.

_Silence means yes, huh. _

XXxXXoXXxXx

'Veronica' struggled with the curling iron on her raven black hair. She narrowed her eyes at 'Damien', who we now know as Alexander Ian Vesper-Hollingsworth.

"You're stupid," she bluntly said, slowly unravelling her now-curled locks. She eyed the perfect tresses fondly, not even bothering to look at Alexander's expression.

"To what, may I ask," Alexander drawled lazily, spinning a pen between his slender fingers in a complex routine. "Do I owe the honor of your commentary?"

Veronica sharply turned around, facing him entirely. She gestured grandly at his seated figure, from crown to sole. "That," she seethed, glaring at him disgustedly. "Everything you are and every single stupid thing you do."

Alex spun the pen in a full Sonic routine. "Do you think what I did is stupid?"

'Victor' entered the room, getting tired of just eavesdropping on their useless conversation. "Everybody thinks it's stupid, stupid," he answered lazily, flopping down on a recliner and easing his self down. "Totally reckless. And that's coming from me, too," he added quickly.

Veronica nodded at her twin brother. "Which is _something_ considering that it is coming from him," she commented, remembering Victor's none-too-safe quests which roughly include motocross on the streets using homemade obstacles, testing out 'mini' nuclear bombs on their neighbor's lawn. Yeah, stuff like that.

Victor rolled his eyes at his sister, and then turned to look at Alex. "What are you going to do now, smart guy?" He looked at the screens behind the deadpanned twin of Ian Kabra. "Are we killing them today?"

Alex looked up at him, appreciating his choice of words. "No, not today." He sneered, a smirk so cold it could make anybody shiver down their very core. "I'm more of a... little-by-little-death kind of guy."

He adjusted the mini speaker on his ear again, listening intently at the Cahills' conversation.

_Yield, huh? How boring. Such useless, pathetic weaklings. _

"Hey you, idiot with the annoying shadow!" the little voice from grainy little Hamilton on the screen shouted indignantly.

Alex looked at the screen questioningly without making any attempt to heed any of their calls.

"We're..." the 2-D image of Hamilton Holt hesitated, cleared his throat and tried again. "We're giving up. Okay? Copy that? _Comprendo?_"

Victor groaned disdainfully. "Ugh. Disgusting. He just said the g-phrase. Cahills are turning to weaklings. Seriously!"

Veronica kept quiet, biting the inside of her mouth. Had she really overestimated them? _Maybe__ Alex__ has __been __right __all__ along.__ The__ Cahills__ are__ not__ worth __even__ half__ of__ their __efforts._But as she looked at her childhood friend, she wasn't so sure. Alex kept looking intently at the screen, an eyebrow dangerously arching higher than the other in scrutiny.

Alex continued on his perfect silence. He waited. For he knew that sooner or later his... _brother_ would have something to say.

Ian Alexander Kabra didn't disappoint. He resumed his proud gait despite the fact that whenever he walks, a limp could be detected in each painful step. Despite the fact that his head is reeling over like his stomach. Despite the fact that all he wanted is to throw up, knowing that would make him feel a little better. "We are stepping down from this barbaric feat of yours. You've had your fun, now let us all go."

Alex dipped his head downwards, not wanting the others to see the slow smile that started to creep on his face. _Oh,__ how__ his_ on to that superior ego of his___.__ As __Victor__ said,__ disgusting._ He inclined his head slightly, hearing that barely-audible tapping sound Veronica is making.

A Morse Code.

_Will you?_

Alex tapped the intercom button with a finger. He watched as all of them flinched at the sound of static. "All right then. I guess it can't be helped," he said, putting on his Game Master's voice. "This day has been fun!"

The blonde, gangly kid who calls himself Dan Cahill looked up at the camera. "What's that s'posed to mean?"

A finger hovered precariously on top of a button. 'Damien' unleashed one of his best smirks yet. "I meant, Mr. Cahill, I'm letting you all go..."

"Ju-Just like th-that?" Amy said warily, her voice devoid of trust.

The finger is now itching to land on the aforementioned button. "Of course not, dear," he replied, imitating Ian's accent. This only made the latter growl. "Let's just say I'm giving you all a head start of, say," he glanced at his watch minutely, "two minutes to get to your boats and head for Ms. Starling's island."

"Why? What are you planning to do?" Jonah demanded, jumping to his feet at once like his chair caught fire.

The finger did not hesitate anymore. He pushed the button. A timer appeared on the screen. "Oh, stuff," Alex replied dismissively. He can't believe this. He should have just pushed the godforsaken button and be done with it long ago. He shouldn't be talking with those... those lowlifes.

"1 minute and 42 seconds..."

"You really should run for it," he suggested calmly, resuming his seat with the others. Veronica watched as the timer ticked lower and lower, counting off the Cahills' last minutes.

XXxXXoXXxXx

Ian felt it first. The ground slightly shaking and the table slightly tipping more to the right.

Sinead saw it first. The crack that started to form on every island, allowing sea water to seep through the man-made land formation.

Hamilton acted first. He yelled loud enough for the others in their respective islands to hear one word, "RUN!"

Jonah slammed his foot down and drove the boat at an alarming speed.

Angelle ushered the Pawns towards the gate that would lead straight to where Sinead is. True enough, Sinead is just on the other side of the little bridge, waiting for all of them.

Dan placed an arm below Natalie's legs and behind her back. Getting ready to lift her up, bridal style, he felt something stopping him from carrying her. He looked down and nearly let go of Natalie Kabra. The ground is melting and it's taking her with it. Tendrils of roots and sprigs wrapped their selves around her, pulling her down. _How __is__ that __even __possible?_ Dan gritted his teeth in frustration. _Must __be __seeing__ things._

A timer started to dictate the remaining seconds.

"Sixty-five seconds left..."

Dan's island is on Ian and Amy's way back to Sinead's island. Ian saw how Dan struggled with his sister.

"Daniel! What in the world are you doing? Natalie is not that heavy, come on!" he yelled, the whirring of the boat's engine slurring his words.

Dan yelled something right back, his tone full of desperation and frustration.

Ian turned to Amy. "What in the name of bloody hell did he just say?"

Amy looked back at him with her emerald-green eyes wide with fear. "I think he said something about the ground is taking her away from him."

Ian looked confused for a half a second. Then, he jumped off the boat and into Dan's island all in a flash. He ran towards them, his lungs feeling as if they were burning. He was a second too late. He saw a huge branch wrap itself around Natalie's waist and with one tug she was gone.

"NATALIE!" Dan and Ian's shouts remained as futile sounds. Ian's hands dug their way down the dirt where he just saw his sister be abducted my nature. Nothing. Not even the slightest glint of Natalie's gold charm bracelet. Nothing.

"Twenty-one seconds left..."

Ian grabbed Dan's arm and towed him away from his kneeling position. He continued to march on and on, the length of his strides widening gradually that Dan had to run to keep up. Ian's back was to him so he couldn't really see his expression. When they reached the boat, Ian started it without another word. Amy glanced at Dan apprehensively.

_What__ happened?_ Amy was shooting her brother boring stares.

_I... I..._

Even in thoughts, Dan is at a loss for words. What was he to say exactly?

That Natalie Kabra is no more because of Mother Nature?

XXxXXoXXxXx

Couple of minutes right after all of the Pawns are safely inside Sinead's control room, the crazy metal door chose that time to suddenly come crashing – really slowly – above their heads. And now, Angelle, Madison and the Starling triplets are holding the whole thing up trying fruitlessly to keep it open long enough for the others to come and cross the freaking door. Keightlyn is busy tending with the unconscious Cahills.

"My biceps brachii and triceps brachii are feeling enervated," Ted whined, beads of sweat trailing down the side of his face.

"You're lucky," Ned scoffed, glaring at his twin brother. "My gastrocnemius and soleus feel like they have just ran around Canada."

"Uh..." Angelle interrupted, looking at Sinead Starling for help. "Translation please. In English."

Sinead blew her bangs away, rolling her eyes at her brothers. "Their arm and leg muscles are tired beyond belief," she said flatly.

Angelle spotted something shiny beside Madison Holt's hands. Then, really slowly something clear dripped from it.

"Oh cra- cramming procrastinators," Angelle muttered, her quick eyes scanning the entire frame of the crashing metal door. "No, no, no, no, no..." There was another one again between Ned and Ted... and another one dangerously close to Sinead's pinky.

"I can't believe I'm saying this," Madison groaned against the pressure on her shoulders. "But I think my shoulders are going to give up on me." She started to shift her weight so she could adjust her grip on the thing.

"NO!" Angelle protested, her panic making her voice shriller than usual. Madison held still, stunned at Angelle's behavior. Angelle cleared her throat nervously. "I meant, step backwards slowly and we'll exchange places."

Ned stared at Angelle, long and hard, deciding what the logic behind her decision was. "Uh, excuse me... But what is the freaking point?"

Angelle shot him a dark look. "None of your freaking business." She looked at Madison. "Let go now."

Madison nodded seriously, slowly backing out of the falling metal door. All of them let out a grunt as 'more pressure got into their backs because of less force'. Do we really need to say 'courtesy of the Starlings'? Angelle immediately switched places, the poison-infested needle digging into her palm. She bit her tongue hard enough to draw blood to keep her from yelling. As soon as the needle made contact, there was fire in her hand. And it was travelling, running, seeping through her veins. It was burning; everything was starting to get on fire. White hot pain shot up to her spine, making everything blurry.

"Angelle? Angelle?" Angelle could hear Sinead's voice like she was underwater. She fought hard against the pain and the burning and everything... And it hurts and...

"Yeah?" she mumbled, feeling numb all over. She didn't even trust her voice, knowing that she would probably slur the words out anyway.

Sinead's voice came again. More like in a dream this time. "I know you're tired but... Just a little bit more. Jonah and Hamilton are on their way. I can see their boats from here."

"Jonah?" Angelle whispered back, dark spots blurring her vision. She blinked them away, hoping to see clearer.

"Yeah. There's Jonah 'The Wizard' Wizard now." Ted gestured at the incoming figure with his head.

Jonah came rushing forward, seeing the agonized and tortured expression of his best friend. "I'm coming, Ange! Hang in there!" he shouted, his hands poised to carry his part of the burden himself. Before he could even touch the metal, Angelle Saunders began shrieking hysterically.

"Stop! STOP! There's poison! Needles on the metal! Jonah, stop!" Her eyes searched for his face, for anybody's face desperately seeing nothing.

"What the freak is she talking about?" Sinead blurted out, her own panicked eyes scanning the metal. She came face to face with a sharp needle with Zeus-knows-what dripping from it continuously. "Oh no! Jonah get her out of there before the poison –"

She was too late. Before she even finished her sentence, Jonah is already kneeling over Angelle's limp, paling, seemingly lifeless body.

XXxXXoXXxXx

"Ten seconds..."

Alexander Ian Vesper-Hollingsworth grinned at his colleagues, a rare feat which only appears when somebody he truly despises is about to die, is dying or is dead.

"Don't you just love happy endings?" he said, imitating Ian's accent. He eyed the screens behind him fondly. "Well, I certainly do. All the things we have been through and the day isn't even done yet!" He chuckled good-naturedly.

'Victoria' held up two hands in surrender. "Wow! Seriously, Alex, you're creeping me out!" She shook her head vigorously, like she can't believe those words just came out of her mouth.

'Jasmine', the little, seemingly innocent girl in case you forgot, is staring wide-eyed at the glass partition which allows you to see an overview of the room below. Her fingers traced the glass curiously. Her eyes remained trained on the sleeping figure, coffee-skinned, jet-black hair. "What is -" Her voice broke, so she tried again. "What is the pretty life-sized Barbie doing in our torture chamber?" she asked, her Bambi-like eyes seeking information.

'Victor' ruffled her hair. "The pretty life-sized Barbie is that scary big brother's," he pointed at Alex, "little sister." He placed a hand over his mouth. "Oops. Half-sister."

Jasmine nodded slowly, taking it all in. "So –"

"Oh, look at that!" Alex interrupted with maniac glee. "They are desperately trying to carry that blonde girl's dying body. You know, personally, I think that she's already a corpse. Oh look at how that Hollywood guy shouts her name over and over. Haha! Pathetic! What does he think this is? Some kind of reality show thing?"

Veronica can't help but flinch at his words. She saw 'Anthony' - the cute, little raven-haired boy about the same age as Jasmine - yawn, tired and sleepy.

"I mean, didn't my _dear, __darling_ twin see it?" Alex continued on his happy ramblings, like a deranged idiot. "That poison is so lethal a drop could incapacitate someone for a week. But how many drops did she get? A whole bottle!" he crowed, as if he was watching a baseball game.

As the Cahills step inside their helicopter with the Hamillon (or was it Haverlon?) guy manning the whole thing to get the 'blasted thing to shoot up the freaking sky', Veronica felt the calling to turn the whole thing off. So she did.

Alex didn't even blow a gasket. And no, he didn't even wrap his hands around her throat. He just stood there, still chuckling to himself.

Finally, he turned around, facing all of them. "That was fruitful, wasn't it, team?" He grinned wider than necessary, not afraid to show how much he is enjoying bloodshed. "Next phase, anybody?"

XXxXXoXXxXx

**AngelicSpring would BRB. **


	22. EPILOGUE

**DISCAIMER: After all that we've been through with this fanfic, I still do not own The 39 Clues. **

XXxXXoXXxXx

EPILOGUE

Three Days Later.

Nellie Gomez adjusted the camera slightly. "Fiske is _so_ paying me big for putting the serious face on," she muttered glumly. With a deep breath, she pressed the button. The light beside 'Gideon Satellite News Feed' lit up in a blinding bright green glow.

"This is Nellie Gomez, a Madrigal agent, speaking to all of your branches today. All of us are aware of the previous events which has..." She pursed her lips at the next few words on her cheat she- oops, speech copy. She swallowed another gulp of air. _Just __let__ it__ out.__And __yet__ I__ CANNOT__ believe __Fiske __is__ making __me__ say __this._ "Which has _shattered_ the lives of Cahills around the world in one way or the other."

"The children," – _kiddos_ – "are safely hidden, away from our affairs," – _craziness_– "for now. You would all agree with me that they have been through a lot and heck, if we want them to experience more!" She exclaimed that last part with so much fervor (with matching, slamming of speech copy) that she forgot she was supposed to be 'businesslike and professional'. She mentally exclaimed an award-winning 'Oops!' and quickly recovered.

She cleared her throat. "Anyways, as I was saying, there were casualties but thank God, there were only injuries. Although..." She glanced quickly at the pictures of the kiddos present in what they like to call, Human Chess Casualty. Amy Cahill while rolling her eyes at her brother Dan while at the Janus rehearsal with the Wizards' class. Ian Kabra with his sister Natalie Kabra during the Cahills' trip to the pool. Phoenix and Keightlyn wearing weird masks. Ned, Ted, Reagan and Madison during that day when they pretended to be their twin for a whole day and everybody bought it. Hamilton and Sinead outside one night, talking when they thought nobody knew or taking their picture for that matter.

Her eyes stopped at the grinning picture of Angelle Saunders with her arm slung over Jonah Wizard's shoulder. "We couldn't exactly say the same with my fellow Madrigal agent, Angelle Saunders. She's still under intense medication – our deepest gratitude to our dear Ekats – but without the knowledge of what exactly was inside the poison, her fate hangs on a tipping balance. We do appreciate the help of Lucians in our quest to help her, of course," she added quickly. She knows how _that_ branch requires the give-credit card. "To sum that up, Angelle is still under comatose, her vital signs unpredictable and..."

"With regards to those who were part of the not-so-recent Vesper kidnapping, they are all recovering to their full health. Phoenix Wizard and Reagan Holt are now undergoing certain physical therapies which would quicken their recovery."

"Now..." She looked at the camera humourlessly. "We all know that Natalie Kabra is taken hostage, yet again, by those charming Vespers who happens to be a bunch of murderous, maniac idiots. We are doing our best, but somehow we could not ascertain her location. We would like to ask for your cooperation. And –" Her perfect speech got cut-off by the sound of her phone ringing coaxingly. She held up a finger on the camera. "One moment," she mouthed with a grand exasperated roll of her eyes.

"Hello?"

"..."

"No. Yes, this is Gomez."

"..."

"I'm doing the message right now. And may I remind you that I'm going live here." Another roll of her eyes.

"..."

"What? Whoa! Hold up -"

"..."

"No of course. I understand. Of course. I'll tell them. Yes, I understand. No, of course not."

_Click. _

She looked at the camera once more. "Looks like we'll be asking more help from you guys." She took a deep breath again, calming her jittery nerves.

"It's Oh, Alistair of the Ekat branch. Something has happened."

END.

XXxXXoXXxXx

*** As you can see, I am using bullets here in my A/N because I don't when I'll be able to post another fanfic. Especially a multi-chap like this one. So yeah. I hope you enjoyed The Start of Train as much as I do. I hope that people wouldn't stop reading this fanfic. Honestly, I've grown so much in the field of writing because of FanFiction and this is the first time in my entire life that I have finished a story with TWENTY freaking chapters only. Usually I tend to be a lot draggy. **

*** I have zilch idea whether to continue this story or not. Actually, from the very start, that ending is the exact ending I've been leading up to. The entire Alistair fiasco... And that's all there is to it, actually. An ending. The Ending. **

*** Oh wow. Is that dramatic or what? But anyways, to all of you people who have been with me, weaving this story for six months or so? I cannot thank you enough. Sayings that words are not enough to thank each and everyone of you is a huge understatement. Thank you all so much! And I hope we keep in touch. PM me!  
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*** So basically I'll be open to help anybody who needs help in any way that I could help. Yeah! Help is word of the day!**

*** That's it! I hope I didn't disappoint. Oh yeah. I put up a poll and I hope you guys vote! Please, please, please! It's regarding The Start of Train. XD**

**For the last time, (till next time)**

**Read and Review?  
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**MuchLove, PeaceOut!**

**AngelicSpring, Over and Out!**


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